By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, January 21 – The Canadian dollar softened against its US counterpart at midday Monday, as concerns surrounding monetary easing in Japan weighed on its value, analysts said.
At 11:56 CST Monday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$1.0065, or US$1=C$0.9935, which compares with Friday’s North American close of US$1.0083, or US$=C$0.9918.
Weak crude oil and copper prices also put downward pressure on the value of the Canadian dollar.
Better than expected Canadian wholesale trade data had little effect on the loonie, analysts said. According to Statistics Canada, Canadian wholesale trade increased by 0.7% in November to C$49.57 billion. Traders expected a 0.5% rise.
Activity was on the lighter side, as many traders were on the sidelines due to US markets being closed for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was up 42.95 points, or 0.34%, at 11:56 CST Monday, to sit at 12,768.64.
