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Canadian dollar dips 0.1% against the greenback
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Canadian building permits jump 8.6% in February
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Price of U.S. oil rises nearly 1%
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Canada-U.S. 10-year spread touches narrowest since Feb. 27
TORONTO, April 4 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, but the currency was holding near a seven-week high as oil added to the previous day's sharp rally and data showed the value of Canadian building permits rebounding in February. The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose after OPEC+ plans to cut more production jolted markets on Monday. U.S. crude prices were up nearly 1% at $81.19 a barrel. The value of Canadian building permits jumped 8.6% in February compared to the previous month, after a revised 3.7% decline in January, data from Statistics Canada showed.
Canada's trade balance for February, due to be reported on Wednesday, and the March employment report, set for release on Thursday, could offer further clues on the state of the domestic economy. The Canadian dollar was trading 0.1% lower at 1.3450 to the greenback, or 74.35 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.3411 to 1.3456. On Monday, the currency touched its strongest intraday level since Feb. 16 at 1.3409 as bets that the end of the Federal Reserve interest rate hiking cycle is near weighed on the U.S. dollar . Canadian government bond yields were higher across the curve, tracking the move in U.S. Treasuries, as investors focused on the inflationary impact of higher oil prices. The 10-year rose 4.9 basis points to 2.900%, while the gap between it and its U.S. equivalent narrowed by 1.2 basis points to about 57 basis points in favor of the U.S. bond. That was the smallest gap since Feb. 27. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Paul Simao)
