By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, March 21 – The Canadian dollar was trading at a stronger level against its US counterpart at midday Thursday, underpinned by strong Canadian retail sales data, analysts said.
According to Statistics Canada, retail sales in the country were up 1% to C$38.9 billion in January, with the increase led by higher vehicle sales.
At 11:50 CDT Thursday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9765, or US$1=C$1.0241, which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.9752, or US$=C$1.0254.
Strong employment data from the US and Canada also underpinned the loonie’s value. StatsCan reported that the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits fell 1.6% in January.
However, weakness seen in crude oil values spilled over to weigh on the Canadian currency, limiting its upside potential, traders noted.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was down 18.24 points, or 0.14%, at 11:50 CDT Thursday, to sit at 12,809.31.
