The Canadian Dollar has weakened to its weakest level in seven months against the US Dollar after retail sales and inflation data came in below economist expectations.
The Canadian Dollar extended losses against the United States Dollar on Friday, following a surprisingly weak retail sales figure for December, and another poor reading of Canada’s Consumer Price Index for January.
The U.S. Dollar surged higher against its Canadian counterpart after news that Canada’s core inflation rate rose by 1.0% on a year-over-year basis in January, well below the Bank of Canada’s medium-term inflation target of 2%, while the headline index rose by 0.5%. January was also the 11th consecutive month for which inflation in Canada, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was at or below the Banks target following a period of 16-months being above it.
The Bank of Canada said that Canadian inflation is “well anchored” but would not rise to the target level until the third quarter of 2014. The January and December rates, alike, were the lowest since October of 2009.
Consumer prices increased in six out of the eight major components in the 12-months to January. The exceptions were transportation as well as clothing and footwear.
Food prices increased 1.1% on a year-by-year basis in January following a 1.5% advance in December. January’s 0.6% year-over- year advance in the food purchased from stores component was the smallest since July 2010. Separately, retail sales figures for December slumped by 2.1%, the biggest one-month decline since April 2010 and well under expectations of a monthly decline of 0.3%.
Current Canadian Dollar Exchange Rates
The Canadian Dollar to Euro (CAD/EUR) exchange rate is trading at 0.7417
The Canadian Dollar to Pound Sterling (CAD/GBP) exchange rate is trading at 0.6397
The Canadian Dollar to US Dollar (CAD/USD) exchange rate is trading at 0.9773
The Canadian Dollar to Australian Dollar (CAD/AUD) exchange rate is trading at 0.9468
The Canadian Dollar to New Zealand Dollar (CAD/NZD) exchange rate is trading at 1.1658
The Canadian Dollar to Japanese Yen (CAD/JPY) exchange rate is trading at 91.2355
These exchange rates were correct as of 14:10 pm GMT
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