By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, December 28 The Canadian dollar was nearly unchanged compared to its US counterpart at 9:05 CST Friday, as traders were waiting for fiscal cliff news before making any big decisions, analysts said.
US lawmakers have to find a solution to the US ‘fiscal cliff’ before January 1, otherwise new tax hikes will come into effect, which could send the country back into a recession.
At 9:06 CST Friday, the Canadian dollar was at US$1.0048 or US$=C$0.9952, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$1.0051 or US$=C$0.9949.
The Canadian currency was also flat amid mixed commodity prices. Crude oil and copper values were slightly higher, while gold was lower.
Much of the trade activity on Friday was said to be position squaring ahead of the end of 2012, according to participants.
There was no significant Canadian economic data to report on Friday. The next economic indicators will be released by Statistics Canada in the New Year.
The TSX was down 42.80 points, or 0.35%, at 9:06 CST Friday morning to sit at 12,330.97.
