By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, June 3 – The Canadian dollar declined against its US counterpart at midday Wednesday, as losses in the oil patch and gold sector weighed down the loonie.
The loonie was at US$0.8027 or US$1 = C$1.2383 at 11:50 CDT Wednesday morning. Higher European bonds put mild pressure on gold while a decision by the European Central Bank to forge ahead with existing monetary policy measures also capped the upside.
US private employers created 201,000 jobs last month which was slightly better than expected.
The situation in Greece continues to cause volatility on world markets as the clock ticks down on the country’s ability to pay its creditors. However, officials say the broad lines of an agreement have been drawn up.
On the commodity markets the July crude contract in New York faded US$0.88 to US$60.38 a barrel. The August gold contract fell US$3.90 to US$1,190.50 an ounce.
At 11:50 CDT Wednesday morning, the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 47.40 points to 15,152.54.
