A Canadian dollar coin, commonly known as the "Loonie", is pictured in this illustration picture taken in Toronto in this January 23, 2015, file photo. The Canadian dollar pared earlier session losses against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, strengthening after data showed January growth was better than feared. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/FilesMARK BLINCH/Reuters
The Canadian dollar closed at 75.66 cents (U.S.), down 0.25 cents from Thursday.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude's October contract lost another $2.22 (U.S.) on Friday, settling at $44.68.
Earlier in the day, Statistics Canada reported the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.3 per cent in the 12 months to August, matching the increase in July. Statscan says lower energy prices continue to moderate the year-over-year rise in the CPI, led by the gasoline index, which was down 12.6 per cent year over year in August.
Despite Friday's lower closing, the loonie has been one of the big winners of this week's U.S. Federal Reserve decision to leave rates unchanged. U.S. Fed chair Janet Yellen lowered forecasts for the U.S. but isn't ruling out a rate hike by the end of 2015.
There are a number of economic announcements next week that could impact the Canadian dollar. On Monday we get a reading on month-over-month wholesale sales for July. Wednesday we hear about the health of retail in Canada, including automobile sales month-over-month for July.
As well Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz is expected to speak on Monday in Calgary, about the commodity cycle and the Canadian economy. It's expected his speech will be hawkish and could give a boost to the Canadian dollar.
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