Canadian Forex Midday: C$ slightly lower

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, October 21 – The Canadian dollar was slightly lower
against its US counterpart at midday Monday, undermined by expectations
of a strong US jobs report that could give the US Federal Reserve
incentive to slow its monetary stimulus in the near-term, industry
watchers said.
According to economists, it’s expected that the US economy created
180,000 jobs in September, which would be well above August’s numbers.
However, the loonie is expected to stay in a narrow trading range
ahead of Wednesday’s Bank of Canada policy statement, analysts said.
Better-than-expected Canadian economic data also halted further
advances. Statistics Canada reported that wholesale sales in August
were up 0.5% to C$49.8 billion, which was higher than the 0.3% gain
economists’ forecast.
Gains seen in commodities, including gold and copper, provided
some support as well.
At 11:33 CDT Monday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9709
or US$1.0299, which compares with Friday’s North American close of
US$0.9658, or US$=$1.0354.
At 11:33 CDT Monday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 25.64
points to sit at 13,161.73.