By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Oct. 19 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was weaker Thursday morning, as declines in crude oil weighed on the energy-linked currency.
At 8:47 a.m. CDT Thursday morning the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7290 or US$1=C$1.3717, which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.7307 or US$1=C$1.3685.
There were 448,000 Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in August, which was up by 2.1 per cent from the previous month, according to a report from Statistics Canada. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 per cent.
Canada’s Industrial Product Price Index was up by 0.4 per cent in September compared to the previous month, taking the annual increase to 0.6 per cent, StatCan reported. The country’s Raw Materials Price Index was up by 3.5 per cent on the month and 2.4 per cent annually.
Crude oil continued to see choppy trade amid the ongoing uncertainty over the conflict between Israel and Hamas. West Texas Intermediate was down by 1.25 per cent at US$87.22 per barrel.
The TSX was relatively steady, down by only 4.06 points at 8:47 CDT, trading at 19,446.64 points.
