By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, May 13 – The Canadian dollar was little changed against its US counterpart at midday Tuesday, after weaker-than-expected retail sales data from the US was offset by investor optimism about China.
According to the US Department of Commerce, retail sales rose by 0.1% in April. That is down from a much healthier 1.5% surge in March.
China is expected to take measures to boost growth and improve market access in a bid to bolster its economy, analysts said.
The gold sector was up 0.32% which was supportive.
The base metals sector was down 0.14% which was bearish. The July copper contract slipped a cent to fall to US$3.14.
At 11:35 CDT Tuesday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9174 or US$1.0900, which compares with Monday’s North American close of US$0.9177, or US$=$1.0897.
At 11:35 CDT Tuesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 1.89 points to sit at 14,656.83.
