Canadian dollar firms as global equity markets bounce

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar edged higher against its US counterpart on Tuesday as the deterioration in investment sentiment due to the Omicron coronavirus variant appeared to ease and domestic data showed that retail sales rose more than expected in October.

Shares globally and the price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, rebounded after slumping the day before on worries that the new variant would derail economic recovery around the world.

US crude prices rose 1.7% to $69.74 a barrel, while the Canadian dollar was trading 0.1% higher at 1.2931 to the greenback, or 77.33 US cents.