Canadian Forex Midday: C$ weakens

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, December 18 – The Canadian dollar was weaker against its
US counterpart at midday Wednesday, as traders positioned themselves
ahead of this afternoon’s US Federal Reserve policy statement, industry
watchers said.
Despite some concerns that the Fed could start tapering as early
as today, most economists believe the Fed will wait until the New Year,
analysts said.
According to participants, stronger-than-expected US economic data
also weighed on the value of the loonie. The US Department of Commerce
said US housing starts were up 22.7% in November to a seasonally
adjusted rate of 1,091,000. Trade expectations were calling for the
seasonally adjusted rate to be 952,000 during the month.
Losses seen in commodities, including gold and copper, added to
the bearish tone.
However, better-than-forecast Canadian economic data limited
further losses. According to Statistics Canada, wholesale sales were up
1.4% to C$50.5 billion in October, beating economists’ expectations of
a 0.3% increase in sales.
At 11:38 CST Wednesday, the Canadian dollar was trading at
US$0.9390 or US$1.0649, which compares with Tuesday’s North American
close of US$0.9425, or US$=$1.0610.
At 11:38 CST Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 84.79
points to sit at 13,264.95.