Economy

Canadian dollar rallies as bond yields hold below recent highs

Published

1 month ago

March 1, 2021

Harry Miller

TORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar rose against the greenback on Monday as pressure on stocks due to the recent jump in bond yields faded and data showed narrowing in Canada‘s current account deficit, with the loonie rebounding from a two-week low on Friday.

World shares jumped as bond yields stayed below their recent spikes and optimism over a swift economic recovery was fueled by Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved COVID-19 vaccine and progress in a new U.S. $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

Canada sends about 75% of its exports to the United States, including oil. U.S. crude prices were up 0.9% at $62.03 a barrel, helped by growing factory activity in Europe.

Canada‘s current account deficit narrowed to C$7.3 billion in the fourth quarter from a revised C$10.5 billion deficit in the third quarter, Statistics Canada said.

The Canadian dollar was trading 0.6% higher at 1.2668 to the greenback, or 78.94 U.S. cents, having traded in a range of 1.2665 to 1.2738.

On Friday, the loonie fell 1%, its biggest decline since last June, while it touched its weakest since Feb. 12 at 1.2748.

Speculators have raised their bullish bets on the Canadian dollar, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday. As of Feb. 23, net long positions had increased to 9,132 contracts from 8,164 in the prior week.

Canada‘s C$100 billion stimulus plan is justified by the economic hole caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, government sources said, as analysts warned Ottawa against racking up too much debt and making investments that fail to boost growth.

Canada‘s fourth quarter GDP data is due on Tuesday.

Canadian government bond yields were higher across much of the curve, with the 10-year up 4.4 basis points at 1.401%. On Friday, it touched its highest intraday since January last year at 1.501%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Alistair Bell)

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Economy

Britain is ‘bouncing back’ into the same old economy – The Guardian

Published

21 hours ago

April 10, 2021

Harry Miller

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Britain is ‘bouncing back’ into the same old economy The Guardian

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Economy

CANADA STOCKS – TSX ends flat at 19,228.03

Published

1 day ago

April 10, 2021

Harry Miller

* The Toronto Stock Exchange’s TSX falls 0.00 percent to 19,228.03

* Leading the index were Corus Entertainment Inc <CJRb.TO>, up 7.0%, Methanex Corp, up 6.4%, and Canaccord Genuity Group Inc, higher by 5.5%.

* Lagging shares were Denison Mines Corp, down 7.0%, Trillium Therapeutics Inc, down 7.0%, and Nexgen Energy Ltd, lower by 5.7%.

* On the TSX 93 issues rose and 128 fell as a 0.7-to-1 ratio favored decliners. There were 26 new highs and no new lows, with total volume of 183.7 million shares.

* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Toronto-dominion Bank, Nutrien Ltd and Organigram Holdings Inc.

* The TSX’s energy group fell 1.61 points, or 1.4%, while the financials sector climbed 0.67 points, or 0.2%.

* West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.44%, or $0.26, to $59.34 a barrel. Brent crude fell 0.24%, or $0.15, to $63.05 [O/R]

* The TSX is up 10.3% for the year.

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Economy

Canadian dollar outshines G10 peers, boosted by jobs surge

Published

1 day ago

April 10, 2021

Harry Miller

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar advanced against its broadly stronger U.S. counterpart on Friday as data showing the economy added far more jobs than expected in March offset lower oil prices, with the loonie also gaining for the week.

Canada added 303,100 jobs in March, triple analyst expectations, driven by the recovery across sectors hit by shutdowns in December and January to curb the new coronavirus.

“The Canadian economy keeps beating expectations,” said Michael Goshko, corporate risk manager at Western Union Business Solutions. “It seems like the economy is adapting to these closures and restrictions.”

Stronger-than-expected economic growth could pull forward the timing of the first interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada, Goshko said.

The central bank has signaled that its benchmark rate will stay at a record low of 0.25% until 2023. It is due to update its economic forecasts on April 21, when some analysts expect it to cut bond purchases.

The Canadian dollar was trading 0.3% higher at 1.2530 to the greenback, or 79.81 U.S. cents, the biggest gain among G10 currencies. For the week, it was also up 0.3%.

Still, speculators have cut their bullish bets on the Canadian dollar to the lowest since December, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. As of April 6, net long positions had fallen to 2,690 contracts from 6,518 in the prior week.

The price of oil, one of Canada‘s major exports, was pressured by rising supplies from major producers. U.S. crude prices settled 0.5% lower at $59.32 a barrel, while the U.S. dollar gained ground against a basket of major currencies, supported by higher U.S. Treasury yields.

Canadian government bond yields also climbed and the curve steepened, with the 10-year up 4.1 basis points at 1.502%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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