By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, August 27 – The Canadian dollar was higher against its US counterpart at midday Wednesday, as reports from the banking sector buoyed investor confidence.
The Royal Bank, reported a quarterly profit that beat expectations while Quebec-based National Bank posted net earnings of C$441 million, up 10% from last year at the same time.
However, the US Congressional Budget Office weighed in with some bearish news. It reports the American economy will grow by just 1.5 percent this year.
The December copper contract fell two cents to US$3.210 a pound. The October crude oil contract jumped 15 cents to US$94.01 a barrel. December gold was down $1.30 to $1,283.90 an ounce.
At 11:55 CDT Wednesday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9183 or US$1.0889, which compares with Tuesday’s North American close of US$0.9131, or US$=$1.0952.
At 11:55 CDT Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was down 10.48 points to sit at 15,608.73.
