By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, April 16 – The Canadian dollar was stronger at midday Thursday, seeing some follow-through buying interest after rallying sharply on Wednesday.
At 11:45 CDT, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.8190 or US$1=C$1.2210 which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.8130 or US$=C$1.2300.
The Canadian dollar jumped by over a cent relative to its US counterpart on Wednesday, following the Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate announcement. The Bank left rates steady, as expected, and the accompanying statement was generally seen as positive as far as the economy was concerned with no further rate cuts in the immediate outlook.
General weakness in the US dollar internationally, following some softer-than-expected US employment data, contributed to the relative strength in the Canadian dollar.
Losses in crude oil did temper the gains in the energy-linked Canadian dollar.
At midday Wednesday the Toronto Stock Exchange was weaker, down 60.77 points at 11:45 CDT to sit at 15,390.10.
