C$ Slightly Weaker, But Off Lows

At 11:40 CDT, the Canadian dollar was trading at 95.47 US cents or US$1=C$1.0474, which compares with 94.89 US cents or US$1=C$1.0538 early in the day, and Wednesday's North American close of 95.60 US cents or US$1=C$1.0460. The Bank of Canada restated its concern about the strong Canadian dollar slowing the country's economic recovery in the Monetary Policy Report, but did not change their tone to take a harder-line stance against the strong currency as some market participants had anticipated. A reduced appetite for risk in the financial markets put some pressure on the Canadian dollar, according to analysts. Weakness in crude oil, gold, and other commodities also weighed on the currency. Statistics Canada reported that Canadian retail sales increased by 0.8% to C$34.5 billion in August. The increase came in well above trade expectations for a 0.4% rise, and provided some underlying support for the Canadian dollar. At midday on Thursday the Toronto Stock Exchange was weaker, down 15.04 points at 11:40 CDT to sit at 11,426.98. In this way canadian dollar is becoming slightly weaker then it was before.