Photo by amy wong com
Our dollar is rising again after a short decline earlier this year. The value of the Canadian dollar rose to a three-year maximum against the US dollar. Currently, it stands at 103.17 cents USD, which is a rise of 0.22 cents. It is at its strongest level since it was allowed to float in 1950. This is all thanks to growth of the gross domestic product in January.
As Statistics Canada reports, these positive growth factors are due to very favourable conditions for the financial markets. Prices of gold and oil jumped slightly — oil reaching US $105 a barrel. Oil prices are expected to continue to rise, since Gaddafi‘s forces recently took over the control of a key oil port, which lowers the hopes of a quick rebel victory and the resumption of oil exports.
More importantly, however, the manufacturing, wholesale, and transportation sectors rose significantly. Furthermore, the agency added that the real estate and construction sectors are also experiencing a slight increase, followed by the finance and insurance sectors.
Luckily, recent political instability did not have a negative impact on the dollar as expected. This is probably because financial markets are already protected against volatility due to Canada’s recent preoccupation with elections…
