The U.S. dollar hovered near the highest since July of last year against major peers on Monday after a Federal Reserve official signaled a first pandemic-era interest rate hike could come as early as March.
The euro sank with the British pound after the Netherlands went into lockdown on Sunday and Britain’s health minister declined to rule out the chance of further restrictions before Christmas amid the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, stood at 96.629, not far from the peak at 96.938 reached last month.
The World Health Organization said on Saturday that the number of Omicron cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas of the world with community transmission, but noted that much remains unknown about the variant, including the severity of the illness it causes.
On Friday, Fed Governor Chris Waller said an interest rate increase will likely be warranted “shortly after” the bank ends its bond purchases in March.
“Waller gave the (dollar index) a tailwind on Friday,” which is now eyeing a new high, but “positioning is skewed long in USDs, so the prospect of position squaring into year-end is elevated,” Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne, wrote in a client note.
“While central bank actions are the real issue, headlines on Omicron could be seen as the smoking gun for position squaring.”
The greenback, which tends to attract demand as a safe haven, touched its highest since Dec. 15 against the euro, sterling and the risk-sensitive Australian dollar.
The dollar slipped though against fellow haven currency the yen, but still near the middle of the trading range of the past three weeks.
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields, to which the dollar-yen pair are often closely correlated, languished near a two-week low reached Friday.
Earlier on Friday, New York Fed president John Williams told CNBC that the Fed will gain “optionality” to raise rates in 2022 by ending bond purchases by March.
Money markets price about 50-50 odds of a quarter point hike by March.
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.
