By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, February 24 The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart on Wednesday, as crude oil futures fell with optimism for a production cut.

At 8:45 a.m. CST the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7221 or C$1.3848 which compares with Tuesday’s North American close of US$0.7263, or C$1.3768.

At 8:45 a.m., New York Mercantile crude oil futures had lost US$1.04 to sit at US$30.83 a barrel, as Saudi Arabia’s oil minister ruled out the potential for a production ceiling, but added that OPEC and non-OPEC countries would be meeting next month to discuss a temporary freeze.

In Canadian data, the Royal Bank of Canada’s fiscal first-quarter profit missed analyst projections, according to reports on Wednesday. Lower trading revenue was one source of the declines.

The TSX was weaker in early activity, down 204.1 points at 8:45 a.m. CST to sit at 12,559.35.