By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, March 18 – The Canadian dollar was trading at a weaker level against its US counterpart at midday Monday, undermined by renewed concerns about the euro zone financial crisis.
The concerns came from news that Cyprus bank accounts were frozen in order to implement on levy on all savings in the country in order to help fund a bailout.
At 11:50 CDT Monday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9793, or US$1=C$1.0211, which compares with Friday’s North American close of US$0.9811, or US$=C$1.0193.
Weakness seen in crude oil also spilled over to weigh on the value of the Canadian dollar, brokers noted.
However, data showing that more non-Canadians were interested in buying Canadian securities in January helped to slow the loonie’s decline. According to Statistics Canada, foreign investment in Canadian securities increased to C$13.34 billion in January.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was down 15.23 points, or 0.12%, at 11:50 CDT Monday, to sit at 12,814.80.
