Canadian Forex Midday: C$ Firms

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, June 26 – The Canadian dollar firmed against its US counterpart at midday Wednesday, supported by news that the European Central Bank doesn’t plan to end monetary stimulus any time soon, analysts said.

At 11:54 CDT Wednesday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9547, or US$1=C$1.0474, which compares with Tuesday’s North American close of US$0.9516, or US$=C$1.0509.

Weak US economic data provided further support for the loonie, as it made it less likely that the US Federal Reserve will be able to cut stimulus programs.

According to the US government, US gross domestic product expanded at a 1.8 per cent annual rate in the first quarter of 2013, a downward revision from the previous estimate of 2.4 per cent growth.

However, weakness seen in gold, copper and crude oil, helped to limit the commodity sensitive Canadian currency’s upside potential.

The Toronto Stock Exchange was down 55.38 points, or 0.46%, at 11:54 CDT Wednesday, to sit at 11,950.04.