By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, August 21 – The Canadian dollar was down over half a
cent against its US counterpart at midday Wednesday, as traders await
the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy
meeting later this afternoon, market watchers said.
Investors are hoping that the minutes will give them an idea of
when the Fed could begin slowing its monetary stimulus, analysts said.
There has been speculation in recent weeks that it could happen as
early as September.
At 11:28 CDT Wednesday, the Canadian dollar was trading at
US$0.9570 or US$1.0449, which compares with Tuesday’s North American
close of US$0.9626, or US$=$1.0389.
Losses seen in commodities, including gold, crude oil and copper,
added to the loonie’s weakness.
At 11:28 CDT Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was down 100.68
points to sit at 12,569.43.
