TORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Monday but fared better than most other G10 currencies as the United States moved closer to passing fiscal stimulus and ahead of an interest rate decision by the Bank of Canada on Wednesday.
The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.2666 to the greenback, or 78.95 U.S. cents.
“We have seen some modest defensiveness with respect to the loonie,” said Bipan Rai, North America head, FX strategy at CIBC Capital Markets. “It just feels like the market is closing up shorts in U.S. dollars.”
The safe-haven U.S. dollar notched a 3-1/2-month high against a basket of major currencies as elevated U.S. Treasury yields spooked investors.
Pressure on the loonie was less than on some other currencies because Canadian yields have been keeping pace with the recent move higher in U.S. yields and oil has climbed, Rai said.
Besides the greenback, the only other G10 currency to gain ground against the Canadian dollar on Monday was the Norwegian crown.
The U.S. Senate on Saturday passed the stimulus package, and President Joe Biden said he hoped for quick passage of the revised bill by the House of Representatives.
Canada sends about 75% of its exports to the United States, including oil.
Oil settled 1.6% lower at $65.05, giving back some recent gains, after Saudi Arabia said there were was no loss of property following attacks on its oil facilities.
Investors see rising chances that the Bank of Canada would hike interest rates next year as the economic outlook improves, but the central bank is likely to push back against those bets for now, pointing to still high unemployment, analysts say.
Canada‘s 10-year yield touched its highest since January last year at 1.545% before dipping to 1.521%, up 1.9 basis points on the day.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Jonathan Oatis)
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
