Analysts said those two factors had helped shield the Canadian dollar from the negative impact of the economy’s worse-than-expected jobs report last Friday.
Canada‘s economy lost 207,100 jobs in April, more than analysts’ estimates of 175,000 job losses, with declines driven by coronavirus restrictions in populous Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, data showed.
“Easy money, rising growth and supply bottlenecks are pushing speculative money out of the U.S. dollar and into the commodity complex,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Cambridge Global Payments in Toronto. “Echoes of 2008-2009 are clear.”
The Canadian dollar has rallied against the greenback since the BoC flagged last month that it could begin hiking interest rates in late 2022 and cut the pace of its bond purchases.
Since roughly mid-April, the loonie has gained nearly 5%.
In afternoon trading, the loonie rose 0.2% to C$1.2094 per U.S. dollar, or 82.67 U.S. cents, having earlier touched its strongest intraday level since September 2017 at C$1.2080.
The Canadian currency also rose as copper raced to a record peak on Monday as investors worried about missing out on further gains. Copper slipped in afternoon trading, however, as bullish investors who recently entered the surging market became nervous about a possible correction.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed to an all-time high of $10,747.50 a ton on Monday after breaking through a decade-old record on Friday.
“Traders are Gamestopping the Canadian dollar, bidding it in synchrony with soaring base metal prices,” said Schamotta, referring to the U.S. stock that was propelled by retail traders to record highs.
“The C$1.2000 threshold – a big and enticing round number – looms ahead, with a breakthrough looking more likely by the minute,” he said.
Canadian government bond yields were little changed across the curve, with the 10-year up slightly at 1.515% from 1.5% late on Friday.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Peter Cooney)
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.
