Loonie Strengthens as Economy Surges Amid Crude Oil Decline

The Canadian dollar strengthened at the end of the week, trading at US$0.7219 or US$1=C$1.3852 as of 8:45 a.m. CDT.

This comes after Statistics Canada reported that Canada's economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.3 per cent in the second quarter, up from 0.3 per cent growth in the first quarter.

However, crude oil prices dipped due to reduced demand outweighing tighter global supplies, with Brent crude oil dropping US$0.69 at US$89.01 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate falling US$0.94 at US$82.59/barrel.