By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, June 12 – The Canadian dollar was higher against its US counterpart at midday Thursday, pushed up by surging gold prices.
Turmoil in Iraq and possible disruptions to oil supplies sent traders looking for safe havens. As well, risks to the Chinese financial system and higher long-term interest rates from the US are possible triggers for a destructive crash, according to an analyst.
The Bank of Canada also expressed worries a sharp housing correction could be coming.
The August gold contract gained $10.60 cents to US$1,271.80 an ounce, which was bullish. The July copper contract fell two cents to US$3.02 a pound, which was bearish. The July crude contract rose $1.85 to US$106.25 a barrel, which was bullish.
At 11:45 CDT Thursday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9212 or US$1.0855, which compares with Wednesday’s North American close of US$0.9202, or US$=$1.0867.
At 11:45 CDT Thursday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was down 2.78 points to sit at 14,889.35.
