TORONTO: The Canadian dollar strengthened against its US counterpart on Friday as oil prices rose and domestic data showed retail sales climbing in August, with the currency on track to advance for a fifth straight week. Canadian retail sales rose 2.1% in August from July as sales at food and beverage stores increased for the first time in three months and even as global supply shortages held back auto sales, data from Statistics Canada showed.
Preliminary estimates for September were less encouraging, showing retail sales falling 1.9% and manufacturing sales down 3.2%. "The flash estimates for September aren't great news for the final month of the quarter," Royce Mendes, senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets, said in a note.
"We'll be looking to next week's sneak peak of September GDP to see whether sectors not affected by the auto industry's challenges were able to offset that weakness." The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose as concerns about tight supply and stockpiles fueled bullish sentiment.
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