Canadian Forex Midday: C$ Lower

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, April 5 – The Canadian dollar was trading at a weaker level compared to its US counterpart at midday Friday, undermined by weak Canadian economic data.

At 11:54 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9830, or US$1=C$1.0173, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.9878, or US$=C$1.0123.

According to Statistics Canada, the Canadian economy lost 55,000 jobs in March, falling below expectations that the economy would add 6,500 new jobs. The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 7.2%.

Canadian trade data was also soft. According to Statistics Canada, a 0.6% decrease in exports and a 0.1% increase in imports caused Canada’s trade deficit with the world to widen to C$1 billion in February, from C$746 million in January.

Disappointing US employment data also weighed on the Canadian currency. According to the US Labour Department, the US economy added 88,000 new jobs in March, falling below expectations of 190,000 new jobs.

The Toronto Stock Exchange was down 43.86 points, or 0.35%, at 11:54 CDT Friday, to sit at 12,319.19.