By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, January 28 – The Canadian dollar was lower against its American counterpart Wednesday morning, amid weaker oil prices as traders looked ahead to an interest rate announcement by the US Federal Reserve.
At 8:50 CST Wednesday morning, the loonie was down 0.0039 of a cent to US$0.8031 or US$1 = C$1.2452. The US central bank is expected to preach patience in its address today, with the possibility of a rate hike not expected to happen anytime soon. Analysts speculate it could even be put off until next year due to the current plunge in oil prices.
Oil prices are under pressure after a report Tuesday said crude supplies in the US rose 13 million barrels last week, a much higher total than was expected.
On the commodity markets the March crude contract in New York dipped 87 cents to US$45.36 a barrel. March copper rose one cent to US$2.47 a pound while the February gold contract faded $1.80 to US$1,281.80 an ounce.
At 8:50 CST Wednesday morning, the TSX was down 25.55 points to 14,808.33.
