WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar went back below 77 United States cents on Tuesday after the release of a report by the U.S. Labor Department.
As of 8:42 a.m. CDT, the loonie was at US$0.7645 or US$1=C$1.3080, compared to US$0.7704 or US$1=C$1.2980 on Monday.
The Labor Department reported that the consumer price index increased 0.1 per cent in July after no change in June, dashing hopes of a slowdown and raising the prospects of a large interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The U.S. Dollar Index jumped 0.99 of a point at 109.31.
Crude oil prices were on the rise early Tuesday. Brent crude oil added US$0.24 per barrel to US$94.24. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose US$0.47 at US$88.25/barrel. Meanwhile, Western Canadian Select (WCS) was down US$0.45 to US$66.64/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index lost 200.10 points to 19,787.13.
Gold fell US$27.40 per ounce to US$1,713.20.