TORONTO - The Canadian dollar made slight gains against its U.S. counterpart Tuesday morning as commodity prices rebounded and traders took in some disappointing retail sales figures. The loonie added 0.2 of a cent to 100.93 cents US. The January crude oil contract added 32 cents to US$103.43 a barrel. Gold prices ran ahead $8.90 to US$1,641.50 an ounce and copper prices bounced three cents to $3.66 a pound. Statistics Canada reported a weaker than expected 0.2 per cent drop in February retail sales, largely due to weakness at auto dealers. January sales were revised lower to a 0.2 per cent gain from an earlier stated gain of 0.5 per cent. Later Tuesday, traders will see the latest consumer confidence figures from the United States. Investors were also awaiting the latest Federal Reserve comments about the U.S. economy on Wednesday when its two-day policy meeting ends with a statement, updated forecasts and chairman Ben Bernanke's latest news conference. Whether all that information will signal any shift in its outlook or the prospect of further steps to boost the economy is far from clear. The Fed will likely repeat its plan to keep short-term interest rates at record lows through 2014. It may also signal that it won't likely launch any new program to lower longer-term rates unless the economy weakens. That would be a switch from three months ago, when Bernanke and his colleagues ended their January meeting with hints that they were edging closer to a third round of bond buying. The Fed's bond purchases have been intended to drive down long-term rates to encourage borrowing and spending.

Source