Canadian forex midday: C$ falls with weak Canadian data

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, May 22 – The Canadian dollar was lower relative to the US dollar Friday, reacting to weak Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, analysts said.

Statistics Canada said the CPI rose 0.8 per cent in the 12 months to April, the smallest increase since October 2013. Pre-report expectations called for a jump of 1.0 per cent.

At 11:40 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.8134 or US$1=C$1.2294, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.8191 or US$1=C$1.2208.

Positive inflation data out of the US was also bearish for the Canadian dollar. The US government said core inflation rose by 0.3 per cent in April, beating expectations of a 0.2 per cent jump.

Further downward pressure came from weakness in crude oil values, though strength in gold provided some support for the Canadian dollar.

The Toronto Stock Exchange was down 11.48 points, or 0.08%, at 11:40 CDT Friday, to sit at 15,192.13.