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Loonie touches strongest level since March 7 at 1.3641
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Price of U.S. oil settles 1.3% lower
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Canadian bond yields trade mixed across steeper curve
(Adds analyst comment, details on activity; updates prices)
TORONTO, March 23 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was
little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, with
the currency giving back its earlier gains as oil prices fell
and a rally on Wall Street lost momentum.
The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3730 to
the greenback, or 72.83 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest
level since March 7 at 1.3631.
The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, fell after
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told lawmakers that
refilling the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) would
be difficult this year and may take several years.
U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.3% lower at $69.96 a
barrel, while the S&P 500 index was also down.
The index had initially rallied on hopes that the
Federal Reserve is nearing a pause in it interest rate hiking
cycle. But recent banking sector turmoil has clouded the
economic outlook, weighing on sentiment.
Canadian retail sales data for January, due to be released
on Friday, will offer clues on the strength of the domestic
economy. Analysts forecast sales to rise by 0.7% from December.
Canadian government bond yields were mixed across a steeper
curve. The 2-year eased 6.8 basis points to 3.453%,
while the 10-year was up 2.2 basis points at 2.752%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Paul
Simao)
