By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, December 17 The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart on Thursday, as the effects of a US Federal Reserve interest rate increase set in.
At 8:45 a.m. CST the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7202 or C$1.3885 which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.7254, or C$1.3785.
At 8:45 a.m., New York Mercantile crude oil futures had gained US$0.15 to sit at US$35.67 a barrel.
On Wednesday the US Federal Reserve announced it would be raising interest rates for the first time in almost ten years. The 0.25 per cent hike boosted the US dollar.
In Canadian domestic data, In October, 539,700 people received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, down 0.6 per cent from September.
The TSX was weaker in early activity, down 36.15 points at 8:45 a.m. CST to sit at 13,129.93.
