By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, June 30 – The Canadian dollar dropped sharply against the US dollar at midday Tuesday, reacting to disappointing Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) data, analysts said.
Statistics Canada said gross domestic product fell by 0.1 per cent in April, missing expectations of a 0.1 per cent increase.
At 11:47 CDT Tuesday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.8004 or US$1=C$1.2494, which compares with Monday’s North American close of US$0.8070 or US$1=C$1.2392.
Traders were also shedding riskier assets amid ongoing worries about economic problems in Greece. Earlier this week, the Greek government shut down its banks, noting they will re-open on July 6.
However, strength in crude oil values helped to limit the downside, as it is one of Canada’s biggest exports.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was up 44.07 points, or 0.30%, at 11:47 CDT Tuesday, to sit at 14,534.22. The market was correcting following recent sharp declines.
