Skip to main content

Canadian dollarsJONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press

The Canadian dollar closed slightly higher Thursday as economists sounded a note of caution regarding a rebound in the latest retail sales data.The loonie rose 0.11 of a cent to 97.63 cents (U.S.), coming off an earlier climb of 0.53 of a cent.

The report from Statistics Canada said that retail sales rose 1 per cent in January to $38.9-billion on higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.

That beat the 0.9 per cent that had been expected by economists, but the gain came due to higher prices, not increased sales volumes, prompting a tepid welcoming for the news.

"Consumers didn't buy more in January; they just paid more for it," noted CIBC world Markets economist Emanuella Enenajor.

"Stripping out the impact of higher prices, sales were flat, suggesting consumers weren't rushing back to stores in droves after a relatively disappointing holiday season."

Also on the radar is fear that the crisis in Cyprus will intensify. The European Central Bank has threatened to end emergency support of the nation's banks next week unless leaders can secure more funding.

Cyprus must raise about $7.5-billion in the next four days to avoid bankruptcy. Several plans have failed, including a proposal to tax deposits held by the nation's banks. If the Mediterranean banking haven is unable to secure a bailout, its banks will fail and it could be forced to leave the euro currency.

In commodities, copper continued its pullback on uncertainty over European demand. The May contract lost 0.12 of a cent to $3.435 to pound. The TSX base metals sector dropped 1 per cent.

The May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.05 to settle at $92.45 a barrel, as energy stocks fell 0.7 per cent.

Gold stocks led the gains, as April bullion rose $6.30 to $1,613.80 an ounce.

Report an editorial error

Report a technical issue

Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 27/03/24 4:00pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
CADUSD-FX
Canadian Dollar/U.S. Dollar
-0.33%0.7346
CM-N
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
-0.46%50.07
CM-T
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
+0.67%67.9

Interact with The Globe