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Currency trades in a range of 1.3583 to 1.3641
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Price of U.S. oil settles 0.6% higher
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10-year yield touches its highest since Nov. 9
(Adds dealer quote and details throughout; updates prices)
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, March 2 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was
little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, with
the currency holding near its weakest level since early January
as economic data fueled worries that central banks will raise
interest rates further.
The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.36 to
the greenback, or 73.53 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of
1.3583 to 1.3641. Last Friday, the currency touched its weakest
since Jan. 4 at 1.3665.
"Oil is up this week but has not provided any help to the Canadian Dollar as the market appears more concerned with central bank policy," Darren Richardson, chief operating officer at Richardson International Currency Exchange Inc, said in a note.
The safe-haven U.S. dollar rallied against a basket
of major currencies on mounting expectations that the Federal
Reserve and the European Central Bank will continue to tighten
monetary policy after data showed stickier-than expected euro
zone inflation and sustained strength in the U.S. labor market.
The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, settled 0.6% higher at $78.16 a barrel on signs of a strong economic rebound in top crude importer China, while Wall Street clawed back some recent losses.
The Bank of Canada will hold its key policy rate at the current level of 4.5% until the end of this year and will start cutting rates in January 2024, Canada's independent budgetary watchdog forecast. The central bank is due to make a policy decision next Wednesday. Canadian government bond yields were up across the curve, tracking the move in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year touched its highest level since Nov. 9 at 3.503% before dipping to 3.488%, up 7.2 basis points on the day. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Paul Simao and David Gregorio)
