The Canadian dollar edged higher Monday morning as markets in the United States reopened after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
By all signs, Black Friday – the biggest shopping day of the year for U.S. retailers – was a huge success as shoppers spent a record $10.3 billion on retail goods. Kicking off the Christmas shopping season, Black Friday is seen as the barometer for consumer spending for retailers. A huge sales day on Friday gave retailers and hopefully the U.S. economy a much needed shot in the arm.
The U.S. economy continues to face pressure as a result of tightening credit conditions and further slowdowns in the housing market. While many analysts have been warning of a consumer-led U.S. recession, this weekend's sales numbers seem to indicate that if the U.S. economy slips into recession it will have nothing to do with a lack of motivation from consumers to spend.
Strong commodity prices kept the Canadian dollar buoyant today as gold traded close to US$830 per ounce and oil continued to push towards the $100 per-barrel mark.
By 10:15 a.m. on Monday the Canadian dollar was trading at 1.0133 against the U.S. dollar, up from Friday's close of 1.0105 but down from its overnight high of 1.0203.
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