By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, May 17 – The Canadian dollar was sharply lower against its US counterpart at midday Friday, as weak Canadian inflation data weighed on its value, analysts said.
According to Statistics Canada, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4% in April, following a 1.0% increase in March. Analysts expected an increase of 0.6% during the month.
At 11:57 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9741, or US$1=C$1.0266, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.9812, or US$=C$1.0192.
Some of the Canadian currency’s weakness was also linked to spill over pressure from the sharp losses seen in gold.
News that nine out of 17 countries in the euro zone are currently in recession mode was also an undermining influence on the Canadian dollar.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was up 53.36 points, or 0.43%, at 11:57 CDT Friday, to sit at 12,560.96.
