By Phil Franz-Warkentin
Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was holding steady Wednesday morning as currency traders digested updated inflation data out of the United States.
At 8:57 a.m. CDT the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.7323 or US$1=C$1.3656, which compares with Tuesday’s close of US$0.7324 or US$1=C$1.3653.
The U.S consumer price index was up by 0.3 per cent in April, which compares with the 0.4 per cent growth reported the previous two months. Annual inflation slowed to 3.4 per cent, from 3.5 per cent in March, with the slowing rate seen as adding to expectations for an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve sometime in the next few months.
Canadian manufacturing sales were down by 2.1 per cent in March compared to the previous month at C$69.9 billion, according to a report from Statistics Canada.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down by 1.38 per cent at US$76.94 per barrel.
The TSX was steady, gaining 5.04 points at 8:57 CDT to trade at 22,248.38 points.
