By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, June 8 – The Canadian dollar was holding relatively steady against the US dollar at midday Monday, retreating from earlier gains.
At 11:45 CDT Monday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.8040 or US$1=C$1.2438, which compares with Friday’s North American close of US$0.8039 or US$1=C$1.2439.
Some downward pressure came from weakness in crude oil prices, as it’s one of Canada’s biggest exports. But, positive gold values were supportive, analysts said.
Traders still believe the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at some point in 2015, which is overhanging the Canadian dollar.
Though, reports that the US government believes a strong US dollar is a problem sparked some buying in the Canadian dollar versus the greenback.
Friday’s better than expected Canadian jobs data was also still providing some support for the loonie, traders said.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was down 194.91 points, or 1.30%, at 11:45 CDT Monday, to sit at 14,762.25.
