By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, March 13 – The Canadian dollar was sharply higher against the US dollar at 11:44 CDT Thursday, lifted by improving risk sentiment, analysts said.
At 11:55 CDT Thursday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9040, or US$1=C$1.1061, which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.8996, or US$=C$1.1116.
Further spillover support came from strength seen in the New Zealand and Australian dollars after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand upped interest rates and Australian employment data came in well above expectations.
However, better than expected US retail sales data helped to limit the upside. The US government reported retail sales rose 0.3 per cent in February, beating expectations of a 0.2 per cent jump.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was down 43.14 points, or 0.30%, at 11:44 CDT Thursday, to sit at 14,275.86.
