Canadian Forex Midday: C$ Strengthens

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, March 15 – The Canadian dollar was trading at firmer level against its US counterpart at midday Friday, underpinned by strong commodity prices, analysts said.

At 11:50 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9812, or US$1=C$1.0192, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.9782, or US$=C$1.0223.

News that living costs in the US increased more than anticipated also helped the value of the Canadian dollar move higher.

Strong net worth data from Statistics Canada also underpinned the Canadian dollar. The country’s net worth increased to C$6.9 trillion in the fourth quarter, a 1% increase from the previous quarter, StatsCan said.

However, weak Canadian housing data limited the loonie’s upside potential. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, average home prices in the country decreased by 1% in February, and sales activity fell 2.1%.

The Toronto Stock Exchange was up 41.03 points, or 0.32%, at 11:50 CDT Friday, to sit at 12,840.94.