By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, May 8 – The Canadian dollar jumped half a cent against its US counterpart at midday Thursday, as better-than-expected Chinese trade numbers helped the loonie take advantage of a weaker US dollar.
Traders took confidence from China’s April trade data which showed exports rose 0.9% from the previous year.
The number of American workers seeking unemployment benefits dipped to 319,000, a sign, according to analysts, that the US job market is improving.
The energy sector drifted 0.68 percent lower which was bearish.
At 11:55 CDT Thursday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9229 or US$1.1084, which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.9179, or US$=$1.0894.
At 11:55 CDT Thursday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was down 17.92 points to sit at 14,638.48.
