Canadian forex midday: C$ weaker

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, Feb. 20 – The Canadian dollar was weaker at midday Thursday, seeing a continuation of Wednesday’s move lower as soft Chinese economic data put some pressure on the currency.

At 11:45 CST, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9007 or US$1=C$1.1102 which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.9024 or US$=C$1.1082.

HSBC’s monthly purchasing managers’ index for China fell to 48.3 in February, from 49.5 in January, preliminary data showed. The softer-than-expected reading weighed on commodity markets and commodity-linked currencies; such as the Canadian dollar.

Positioning ahead of Friday’s Canadian inflation data was a feature of the trade as well. Expectations call for Canada’s January core and headline inflation to come in at 1.3 per cent.

At midday Thursday the Toronto Stock Exchange was stronger, up 73.18 points at 11:45 CST to sit at 14,192.91.