By MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Dec. 1 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was virtually unchanged Tuesday morning, despite a favourable Statistics Canada report regarding economic growth.
As of 8:39 CST, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7718 or C$1.2954, compared to Monday’s close of US$0.7713 or C$1.2965.
Statistics Canada said the country’s gross domestic product increased by an annualized 40.5 per cent in the third quarter. That erased the 38.1 per cent plunge in the second quarter. The report said Canada’s total output was now about 95 per cent of levels at the end of 2019.
Weighing on the Canadian dollar is the federal government’s latest fiscal update, which projected the national deficit at a record C$381.6 billion dollars. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced on Monday an additional C$100 billion in immediate pandemic spending measures.
Benchmark crude oil prices were slightly lower Tuesday morning, after the OPEC+ alliance failed to reach an agreement on extending their product cuts past January.
Brent crude oil slipped 16 cents at US$47.72 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 28 cents at US$45.06 per barrel. Meanwhile Western Canadian Select (WCS) eased back four cents at US$33.73 per barrel.
At the start of trading, the TSX/S&P Composite Index rose 263.19 points at 17,453.44.
Gold jumped US$32.94 at US$1,809.89 per ounce.
