By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, March 19 The Canadian dollar was down sharply against the US dollar on Thursday, giving back nearly all of Wednesday’s advances amid profit taking.
At 8:49 CDT Thursday, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7858 or US$=C$1.2726, which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.7955 or US$1=C$1.2570.
The weakness was linked to the declines seen in crude oil, and ongoing worries about the negative impact low oil values will have on Canada’s economy, analysts said.
The liquidation of positions ahead of Friday’s key Canadian retail sales and consumer price index data added to the bearish tone.
However, some support came from Wednesday’s US Federal Reserve announcement, which said they will wait for more improvement in the US labour market before raising interest rates.
The TSX was down 36.92 points, or 0.25%, at 8:49 CDT Thursday morning to sit at 14,925.32.
