WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar remains in a downturn on Wednesday morning after the release of economic news over the past 24 hours.
As of 8:39 a.m. CST, the loonie was at US$0.7755 or US$1=C$1.2895, compared to Tuesday’s close of US$0.7785 or US$1=C$1.2845. Canadian finance minister Chrystia Freeland delivered a fiscal update on Tuesday which projected a C$144.5 billion deficit for 2021-22, C$11 billion lower than previously forecast, and stated that the federal government will earmark C$4.5 billion for responding to the Omicron COVID-19 variant. Earlier today, Statistics Canada reported that the rate of inflation held steady in November at 4.7 per cent, driven by increases in gasoline, furniture and food prices.
Read Also
Canadian Financial Close: Loonie drops, new record for TSX
Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar tumbled on Friday but still ended the week slightly higher than the last….
The United States Dollar Index dipped 0.01 of a point to 96.56 as investors await an announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve regarding key interest rates later this week.
Benchmark crude oil prices were down on Wednesday due to fears over the Omicron COVID-19 variant and the International Energy Agency announcing that the global oil market has returned to surplus. Brent crude oil declined US$0.52 per barrel to US$73.18. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped US$0.73 to US$70.00/barrel. Meanwhile, Western Canadian Select (WCS) advanced US$0.18 to US$54.26/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index lost 42.04 points at 20,606.53.
Gold shed US$7.80 per ounce to US$1,764.50.
