Canadian Forex Midday: C$ Sharply Lower

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, April 15 – The Canadian dollar was trading at a sharply lower level compared to its US counterpart at midday Monday, amid a broad sell-off sparked by global economic concerns and disappointing Chinese economic data, analysts said.

According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s gross domestic product grew by 7.7% in the last quarter, falling below expectations for a growth rate of 8.0%.

At 11:54 CDT Monday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9791, or US$1=C$1.0213, which compares with Friday’s North American close of US$0.9864, or US$=C$1.0138.

Continued concerns about economic problems in the euro zone, specifically the financial problems in Cyprus, also sparked some of the selling that took the value of the Canadian dollar lower.

A sharp sell-off in gold values, and weak crude oil prices spilled over to further weigh on the Canadian currency, market watchers said.

There was no significant Canadian economic data to report on Monday.

The Toronto Stock Exchange was sharply lower, down 245.88 points, or 1.99%, at 11:54 CDT Monday, to sit at 12,091.71. The TSX also fell victim to the broad sell-off, sparked by global economic concerns.