By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, April 7 The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart on Thursday as the greenback followed strength in the Japanese yen.
Strength in the yen allowed the US dollar to advance against the loonie, as did analysis of US Federal Reserve minutes.
Fed minutes were less bearish than expected, as some members indicated they wanted to introduce an interest rate increase in April, while others were more cautious.
But gains in crude oil helped limit the Canadian dollar’s losses.
At 8:45 a.m. CDT, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7621 or C$1.3122 which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.7637, or C$1.3094.
In Canadian domestic data, Municipalities issued building permits worth $7.4 billion in February, up 15.5 per cent from January, Statistics Canada said in a report on Thursday.
The TSX was weaker in early activity, down 32.59 points at 8:45 a.m. CDT to sit at 13,314.87.
