By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, February 28 – The Canadian dollar strengthened against the US dollar at midday Friday, lifted by better than expected annual domestic GDP data, analysts said.
Statistics Canada reported that the Canadian economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.9 per cent in the fourth quarter, beating expectations of a 2.5 per cent growth.
At 11:42 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9037, or US$1=C$1.1066, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.8980, or US$=C$1.1136.
Further support came from strength in outside equity markets, which made investors more interested in taking on riskier assets, brokers said.
However, reports that Canadian GDP dropped 0.5 per cent in December, below expectations of a 0.3 per decline, helped to limit the upside.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was up 58.20 points, or 0.41%, at 11:42 CDT Friday, to sit at 14,272.37.
