By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, July 23 – The Canadian dollar moved higher on Wednesday, amid a better than expected showing in Canadian retail sales during May, analysts say.
At 9:05 CDT Wednesday morning, the loonie was at US$0.9332 or US$1 = C$1.0745, up 0.18 of a cent from Tuesday’s close.
Canadian Retail sales rose 0.7 per cent during May, which was higher than 0.6 per cent hike that economists had expected, according to Statistics Canada.
However, without auto sales, retail sales only rose 0.1 per cent, less than the 0.3 per cent gain that had been forecast.
Markets also watched events of geopolitical conflict unfold in Ukraine and the Middle East. Worries over rising tensions in the two regions had undermined investor sentiment earlier in the week, but the return of risk appetite appeared to persist on Wednesday. Traders say.
Brokers also say that with the rest of the week likely to be quiet on the domestic front for the loonie, the currency could find itself range-bound in coming sessions.
The TSX was up 16.44 points to 15,331.57 at 9:05 CDT Wednesday morning.
