By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Oct 31 – The Canadian dollar was sharply lower relative to the US dollar on Friday, reacting to disappointing Canadian economic data, analysts said.
Statistics Canada said gross domestic product dropped 0.1 per cent last month, while pre-report expectations called for a flat reading.
At 11:41 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.8867, or US$1=C$1.1278, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.8932 or US$1=C$1.1196.
News that the Bank of Japan unexpectedly decided to expand their current key stimulus program was also weighing on the loonie.
Spillover pressure from the sharp weakness in gold was also bearish, as was the softer tone in crude oil values, market watchers said.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was up 106.11 points, or 0.73%, at 11:41 CDT Friday, to sit at 14,564.80.
