By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, October 7 – The Canadian dollar opened lower against its
US counterpart on Monday, undermined by weaker-than-expected Canadian
economic data, industry watchers said.
According to Statistics Canada, building permits were down 21.2%
in August, following a 21.4% increase in July. The decline was
significantly lower than the 7.4% decrease economists had forecast.
Further weakness came from the continued partial shutdown of the
US government, which is now entering its second week, analysts said.
Losses seen in commodities, including crude oil and copper, added
to the loonie’s bearish tone.
At 8:40 CDT Monday, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.9687 or
US$=C$1.0323 which compares with Friday’s North American close of
US$0.9716, or US$=C$1.0292.
The TSX was down 27.83 points Monday morning at 8:40 CDT, to sit
at 12,730.82.
