By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, August 20 – The Canadian dollar opened lower against its
US counterpart on Tuesday, undermined by poor Canadian economic data,
market watchers said.
According to Statistics Canada, wholesale sales in June were down
2.8% to C$48.8 billion.
Adding to the Canadian dollar’s weakness are continued
expectations that the US Federal Reserve will slow its monetary
stimulus in the near-future, analysts said. Investors will get a
clearer picture of the Feds intentions on Wednesday, as the minutes
from the latest policy meeting are scheduled to be released.
At 8:36 CDT Tuesday, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.9621 or
US$=C$1.0393 which compares with Monday’s North American close of
US$0.9669, or US$=C$1.0342.
Losses seen in commodities, including gold, copper and crude oil,
added to the loonie’s bearish tone.
The TSX was down 14.48 points Tuesday morning at 8:36 CDT, to sit
at 12,573.54.
