By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, April 17 – The Canadian dollar rose slightly against the
US dollar Thursday morning on the strength of a Statistics Canada
report which said inflation in March exceeded expectations on a year-
over-year basis.
According to the report, consumer prices rose by a rate of 1.5% in
the year ended in March. The rise was powered by higher prices for
food, energy and shelter. This follows an increase of just 1.1% in
February.
On Wednesday, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said inflation
would likely climb to two percent over the next few months because of
higher energy prices and a lower Canadian dollar.
The central bank has held the interest rate steady at 1% since
2010, but analysts expect it to rise to 2% by mid to late 2015.
At 8:50 CDT Thursday, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.9096 or
US$=C$1.1099 which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US
$0.9076, or US$=C$1.1018.
The TSX was down 18.30 points Thursday morning at 8:50 CDT, to sit
at 14,428.22.
