By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, March 14 – The Canadian dollar was trading at firmer level against its US counterpart at 11:45 CDT Thursday, as strong US employment data lifted its value, analysts said.
According to the US government, first-time unemployment aid applications dropped to 332,000 during the week ended March 9, beating expectations of an increase to 350,000. The four-week average fell to the lowest since March 2008.
At 11:45 CDT Thursday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9779, or US$1=C$1.0226, which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.9734, or US$=C$1.0273.
Strong Canadian housing data also underpinned the loonie’s value. According to Statistics Canada, the New Housing Price Index in Canada rose 0.1% in January, following December’s increase of 0.2%.
Firmness seen in crude oil, gold and copper prices also spilled over to support the value of the Canadian dollar, traders said.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was up 24.98 points, or 0.20%, at 11:45 CDT Thursday, to sit at 12,769.09.
