Glacier FarmMedia – The Canadian dollar surpassed the 72 United States cent mark on Monday morning after the release of new data from Statistics Canada.
The loonie was at US$0.7201 or US$1=C$1.3887 as of 8:33 a.m. CST, compared to Friday’s close at US$0.7188 or US$1=C$1.3913.
StatCan reported that the country’s annual inflation rate ticked up to 2.4 per cent in December, exceeding analysts’ expectations of the rate holding steady at 2.2 per cent. One year ago, the federal government imposed a two-month GST holiday on some items.
The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.24 of a point at 99.16. U.S. markets are closed today due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Crude oil prices nudged lower as anti-government protests in Iran eased off. West Texas Intermediate was down US$0.23 at US$59.21 per barrel. Brent crude oil declined US$0.33 at US$63.80/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index lost 109.25 points at 32,931.30.
Gold rose US$80.00 per ounce at US$4,675.40.
