(The Canadian Press) TORONTO – The Canadian dollar was lower Friday amid data showing a better than expected read on retail sales and very low pressure on prices.
The loonie was down 0.25 of a cent to 94.8 cents US as Statistics Canada reported that October retail sales rose 1.0%, much higher than the 0.3% gain that economists had expected. But excluding autos, sales were flat against an expected 0.2% rise.
On the inflation front, the agency reported that inflation rose at an annual rate of 0.7%, down from 1.1% in September and lower than the 0.9% increase that economists had called for.
The Canadian currency has had a tough week, losing well over three-quarters of a US cent.
The loonie started sliding in earnest mid-week and the greenback gained ground after minutes from the Fed's latest meeting suggested the U.S. central bank will start reducing its $85 billion of monthly bond purchases in coming months.
The content of the minutes may have come as a surprise to the markets after Janet Yellen, who is slated to become the next Fed chairman, had expressed strong support for low interest rate and bond buying policies during her confirmation hearing last week.
This third round of quantitative easing has kept interest rates low to support a slow but steady economic recovery in the U.S. but also propelled money into higher yielding stocks.
January crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was off five cents to US$95.39.