By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, April 12 – The Canadian dollar was trading at a softer level compared to its US counterpart at midday Friday, as spill over pressure from a sell-off in commodity prices, including crude oil and gold, weighed on values.
At 12:02 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9868, or US$1=C$1.0134, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.9894, or US$=C$1.0107.
Renewed concerns about economic problems in the euro zone further undermined the value of the Canadian currency, according to participants.
Traders were also liquidating positions ahead of the weekend and next week’s Bank of Canada interest rate announcement. Most analysts expect the bank to keep interest rates unchanged.
There was no significant Canadian economic data to report on Friday.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was down 143.61 points, or 1.15%, at 12:02 CDT Friday, to sit at 12,337.76.
