Economy

Canadian dollar retreats from three-year high as U.S. bond yields soar

Published

4 years ago

February 26, 2021

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar weakened on Thursday by the most in four weeks against the greenback, as surging U.S. bond yields pressured global equity markets, with the loonie pulling back from a three-year high.

The loonie was trading 0.7% lower at 1.2596 to the greenback, or 79.39 U.S. cents, its biggest decline since Jan. 27. During the session, the loonie touched its strongest intraday level since February 2018 at 1.2468.

“The U.S. 10-year (yield) has just run away with it this afternoon and is placing substantial pressure on high-beta currencies,” such as the Canadian dollar, said Simon Harvey, senior FX market analyst for Monex Europe and Monex Canada.

High-beta currencies tend to be more sensitive to risk sentiment than the broader market. Canada runs a current account deficit and is a major exporter of commodities, including oil.

A jump in benchmark U.S. Treasury yields led a gauge of global equity markets to retreat as investors sold the high-flying tech stocks that fueled Wall Street’s rally to record highs and took precautions against the threat of inflation.

The price of oil, one of Canada‘s major exports, edged up to its highest close since 2019 as Texas refineries restarted production after last week’s freeze. U.S. crude oil futures settled 0.5% higher at $63.53 a barrel.

Canadian payroll employment rose by 44,200 in December after decreasing by 64,500 in November, Statistics Canada said.

Canadian government bond yields were higher across a steeper curve in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year touched its highest level since January last year at 1.486% before dipping to 1.457%, up 14.2 basis points on the day.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Economy

S&P/TSX composite down more than 200 points, U.S. stock markets also fall

Published

8 hours ago

September 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.

The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

Source link

Economy

Here’s a quick glance at unemployment rates for August, by province

Published

9 hours ago

September 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Canada’s national unemployment rate was 6.6 per cent in August. Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

_ Newfoundland and Labrador 10.4 per cent (9.6)

_ Prince Edward Island 8.2 per cent (8.9)

_ Nova Scotia 6.7 per cent (7.0)

_ New Brunswick 6.5 per cent (7.2)

_ Quebec 5.7 per cent (5.7)

_ Ontario 7.1 per cent (6.7)

_ Manitoba 5.8 per cent (5.7)

_ Saskatchewan 5.4 per cent (5.4)

_ Alberta 7.7 per cent (7.1)

_ British Columbia 5.8 per cent (5.5)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.

Source link