By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, December 20 – The Canadian dollar was flat against its US counterpart at midday Thursday.
At 11:43 CST Thursday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$1.0124, or US$1=C$0.9878, which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$1.0120, or US$=C$0.9881.
Better than expected Canadian retail sales data helped to underpin the Canadian currency. Retail sales in Canada were up 0.7%, to C$39.4 in October, according to Statistics Canada.
Positive gross domestic product (GDP) data from the US was also supportive. Third quarter GDP in the US expended at an annual rate of 3.1%, beating pre-report expectations of a 2.8% expansion.
But, declining commodity prices, including gold, crude oil and copper, prevented the Canadian dollar from moving higher above its US counterpart.
The hedging of risk in case the US fiscal cliff is not avoided and long liquidation ahead of the New Year also undermined the Canadian dollar’s value.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was down 62.32 points, or 0.50%, at 11:43 CST Thursday, to sit at 12,341.31.
