By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, March 20 – The Canadian dollar was stronger Friday morning, as the currency reacted to a number of conflicting economic reports.
At 9:24 CDT Friday morning the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7936 or C$1.2601 which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.7858, or C$1.2726.
A weaker tone in the US dollar internationally, as it has seen some wide price swings over the past week, contributed to the relative strength in the Canadian dollar. Gains in crude oil were also supportive for the energy-linked currency.
Statistics Canada reported that the country’s inflation rate held steady at 1.0% in February, which was unchanged from the previous month as low gasoline prices were said to be weighing on the consumer price index.
In another StatsCan report, retail sales declined by 1.7% in February to C$41.46 billion.
The TSX was higher in early activity, up 70.23 points at 9:24 CDT to sit at 14,944.16.
