By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, July 10 – The Canadian dollar strengthened against its
US counterpart at midday Wednesday, underpinned by the greenback that
weakened ahead of the afternoon release of minutes from the latest US
Federal Reserve meeting, analysts said.
The Fed currently buys US$85 billion in bonds each month to keep
interest rates low. According to market watchers, the publication of
the minutes to the last policy meeting may provide insight as to when
the central bank will start reining in its monetary stimulus.
At 11:30 CDT Wednesday, the Canadian dollar was trading at
US$0.9513 or US$1.0511, which compares with Tuesday’s North American
close of US$0.9500, or US$=$1.0526.
Gains in commodities, including gold, crude oil and copper, added
to the loonie’s bullish tone.
At 11:30 CDT Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was down 31.75
points to sit at 12,134.91.
