By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, May 17 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was firmer Monday morning, as gains in crude oil provided some support. The strength in the currency came despite signs that Canada’s housing market was cooling down.
At 8:52 a.m. CDT Monday morning, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.8268 or US$1=C$1.2095 which compares with Friday’s North American close of US$0.8258 or US$1=C$1.2109.
Canadians invested C$21.2 billion in foreign securities in March, while foreign investment into the country came in at C$3.2 billion, according to Statistics Canada.
Canadian home sales were down by 12.5 per cent in April compared to the previous month, according to a report from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Meanwhile, housing starts were down by 19.8 per cent, according to a separate report from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up by 0.4 per cent in early activity to trade at US$65.64 per barrel.
The TSX was weaker, down by 21.43 points at 8:52 CDT, trading at 19,345.26 points.
