By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, December 5 – The Canadian dollar was weaker against its American counterpart at midday Friday, as a volatile energy market and disappointing job numbers combined to put the loonie under pressure.
The loonie was at US$0.8754 or US$1 = C$1.1423 at 11:50 CST Friday morning.
Canada lost 10,700 jobs in November, a slide that helped push the unemployment rate up to 6.6 percent, according to a survey of the labour market. The retail and wholesale trade were hit the hardest while the scientific and technical sectors were also affected. Fortunately, with the loonie being weaker against its American greenback, analysts see modest growth down the road.
US crude oil remained at a near five-year low after Saudi Arabia slashed oil prices in a bid to retain its market share.
On the commodity markets, the February gold contract faded US$16.30 to $1,191.40 an ounce. The January crude oil contract declined US$0.94 to US$65.87 a barrel.
At 11:50 CST Friday morning, the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 25.97 points to 14,495.92.
