By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, February 28 The Canadian dollar was lower compared to its US counterpart at 9:05 CST Thursday, as traders liquidated positions ahead of Friday’s Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) report, analysts said.
Traders are expecting Statistics Canada to announce that Canadian GDP decreased by 0.2% in December in Friday’s report.
At 9:05 CST Thursday, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.9737 or US$=C$1.0270, which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.9775 or US$=C$1.0230.
Traders were also being cautious ahead of next week’s Bank of Canada interest rate announcement, which is supposed to happen on Wednesday, March 6.
However, strong Canadian trade deficit data limited the Canadian dollar’s downside potential. According to Statistics Canada, the country’s current account deficit (on a seasonally adjusted basis) was down C$0.8 billion to C$17.3 billion in the fourth quarter.
The TSX was up 15.50 points, or 0.12%, at 9:05 CST Thursday morning to sit at 12,747.89.
