By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, August 29 – The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker against its US counterpart at midday Friday, as the American greenback gained strength due to signs of economic crisis in Europe.
Inflation within Euro-bearing countries slumped to 0.3 percent, the lowest amount since October of 2009.
According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s GDP hit an annual rate of 3.1 percent, which is higher than the expected rate of 2.7 percent.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index also jumped to 64,3 percent in August, down from 56.5 percent in July.
The December copper contract gained two cents to US$3.17 a pound. The October crude oil contract jumped 57 cents to US$95.12 a barrel. December gold fell $1.70 to $1,288.70 an ounce.
At 11:50 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9204 or US$1.0865, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.9219, or US$=$1.0847.
At 11:50 CDT Friday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 49.23 points to sit at 15,607.40.
