The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart and all the other G10 currencies on Wednesday as oil prices rose and investors bet that the Bank of Canada would be more sensitive to rising inflation than the Federal Reserve.
U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in nearly 12 years in April as booming demand amid a reopening economy pushed against supply constraints.
“Higher inflation in the U.S. will spillover into Canada‘s economy and place upwards pressure on Canadian CPI,” said Simon Harvey, senior FX market analyst for Monex Europe and Monex Canada.
The Bank of Canada is likely to be “much more sensitive” to rising inflation than the Fed, Harvey said.
Last August, the Fed shifted to a new monetary policy strategy, putting new weight on bolstering the U.S. labor market and less on worries about too-high inflation.
The Bank of Canada last month changed its guidance to show it could start raising its benchmark interest rate from a record low of 0.25% in late 2022. It also tapered its bond purchases, becoming the first major central bank to cut back on pandemic-era money-printing stimulus programs.
The Canadian dollar was trading 0.3% higher at 1.2063 to the greenback, or 82.90 U.S. cents, the biggest gain among G10 currencies. It touched its strongest intraday level since May 2015 at 1.2046.
One of the major causes of inflation has been higher prices of some of the commodities that Canada produces, including oil.
U.S. crude oil futures were up 1.7% at $66.40 a barrel on signs of a speedy economic recovery and upbeat forecasts for energy demand.
Canadian government bond yields were higher across the curve, tracking the move in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year touched its highest since April 29 at 1.587% before dipping to 1.581%, up 4.2 basis points on the day.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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.
