By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, November 25 – The Canadian dollar was higher against its American counterpart at midday Tuesday as demand for the loonie grew with positive economic data.
The loonie was at US$0.8893 or US$1 = C$1.1245 at 11:45 CST Tuesday morning.
Auto sales paced the Canadian economy to a gain of 0.8 percent during September, a mark higher than expected. Increases were also registered in food, beverages, electronics and home furnishings. The news came on the heels of another report that projected the Bank of Canada would hike the interest rate by May of 2015.
Data in the US also showed its economy was showing forward progression. The American economy grew by an annualized pace of 3.9 percent in the most recent quarter. Earlier projections forecast a decline.
On the commodity markets, the December gold contract gained US$2.90 to $1,198.60 an ounce while copper dropped a penny to US$2.99 a pound. The January crude oil contract rose 48 cents to US$76.26 a barrel.
At 11:45 CST Tuesday morning, the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 51.07 points to 15,066.48.
