By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, September 13 – The Canadian dollar was weaker against
its US counterpart at midday Friday, undermined by concerns that the US
Federal Reserve could decide to slow its monetary stimulus at next
week’s policy meeting, industry watchers said.
Further downward pressure came from a Statistics Canada report
that said the ratio of household debt to income increased to 163.4
percent in the second quarter of 2013, from 162.1 percent in the first
quarter.
Losses seen in commodities, including crude oil, copper and gold,
added to the loonie’s bearish tone.
However, losses were limited by weaker-than-expected US economic
data, analysts said. According to reports, US retail sales were up 0.2%
in August, which was lower than economists’ expectations.
At 11:39 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9671
or US$1.0340, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of
US$0.9685, or US$=$1.0325.
At 11:39 CDT Friday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 43.88
points to sit at 12,744.93.
