Canadian Forex Midday: C$ slightly lower

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, October 2 – The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker
against its US counterpart at midday Wednesday, as it remained in a
narrow trading range due to the partial shutdown of the US government,
which is now in its second full day, industry watchers said.
Weakness came from Tuesday’s comments from Bank of Canada (BoC)
Senior Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem, saying Canada’s economy was
growing slower than expected. The BoC said the gross domestic product
in the third and fourth quarters of 2013 will grow at a 2% to 2.5%
annual pace range. The BoC originally forecasted a gain of 3.8% for the
third quarter and a 2.5% increase for the fourth quarter, analysts
said.
However, gains seen in commodities, including copper, gold and
crude oil, gave the loonie some support, as did poor US jobs data.
According to an ADP report, 166,000 private sector jobs were added in
September, which was lower than the 180,000 economists had forecast.
At 11:38 CDT Wednesday, the Canadian dollar was trading at
US$0.9679 or US$1.0331, which compares with Tuesday’s North American
close of US$0.9685, or US$=$1.0325.
At 11:38 CDT Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was down 23.60
points to sit at 12,823.84.