January 27, 2016 by admin

Loonie down slightly ahead of afternoon announcement from U.S. Federal Reserve

TORONTO – The Canadian dollar and Toronto Stock Exchange were down slightly early Wednesday, ahead of an afternoon announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX index was down 22.30 points at 12,308.96, after 30 minutes of trading.
The Dow Jones Industrials average was down 115.84 points at 16,051.39, the broader S&P 500 index declined six points to 1,897.63 and the Nasdaq 100 shed 38.26 point to 4,195.58.
The loonie was down 0.13 of a cent at 70.92 cents US, after closing Tuesday above 71 cents US for the first time since Jan. 6.
Canada’s dollar has been trading near or just above 13-year lows for weeks as a result of a number of factors, including the increased spread in American and Canadian interest rates, the falling value of major commodities and slow economic growth.
On the commodity markets, the February gold contract fell $3.90 to US$1,117.8 an ounce and the February crude contract was down 44 cents at US$31.01 per barrel.