By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, April 19 – The Canadian dollar eased against its US counterpart at midday Friday, undermined by soft Canadian inflation data, analysts said.
According to Statistics Canada, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase 1.0% in the 12 months to March, following a 1.2% jump in February.
At 11:57 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9739, or US$1=C$1.0268, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.9747, or US$=C$1.0260.
Continued concerns about global economic growth also weighed on the value of the Canadian dollar.
However, the loonie’s downside potential was limited by spillover support from the gains seen in commodities, including crude oil and gold.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was up 27.06 points, or 0.23%, at 11:57 CDT Friday, to sit at 12,023.40.