By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, November 21 – The Canadian dollar was weaker against its
US counterpart at midday Thursday, undermined by expectations that the
US Federal Reserve could slow its monetary stimulus in the near-term,
industry watchers said.
According to reports, if the job market sees improvement, the Fed
could start pulling back on its bond-buying program “in the coming
months.”
Further weakness came from poor Chinese manufacturing data,
investors said. According to HSBC, their manufacturing purchasing
managers’ index fell to 50.4 in November from 50.9 in October.
Economists were expecting the index to fall to 50.8.
However, gains seen in commodities, including crude oil and
copper, limited any further losses.
At 11:25 CST Thursday, the Canadian dollar was trading at
US$0.9518 or US$1.0506, which compares with Wednesday’s North American
close of US$0.9572, or US$=$1.0447.
At 11:25 CST Thursday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 48.61
points to sit at 13,478.62.
