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Loonie touches its weakest since March 30 at 1.3567
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Price of U.S. oil settles 1.1% higher
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Canada-U.S. 10-year spread narrows by 4.2 basis points
By Fergal Smith TORONTO, April 24 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Monday after earlier touching its weakest level since late March, as investors awaited the release this week of minutes from the Bank of Canada's latest meeting. The BoC is due to release on Wednesday its monetary policy deliberations for the April 12 interest rate decision. The central bank left its benchmark rate on hold for a second straight meeting at a 15-year high of 4.50% and raised its growth forecast for 2023 to 1.4% from 1.0% in January. "We think policymakers may have taken a slightly more optimistic view on the economy's longer-term resilience, meaning that the minutes could provide some lift to the currency," Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay, said in a note.
The Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at
1.3545 to the greenback, or 73.83 U.S. cents, after touching its
weakest since March 30 at 1.3567.
The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose as
investors grew optimistic that holiday travel in China would
boost fuel demand in the world's largest oil importer. U.S.
crude prices settled 1.1% higher at $78.76 a barrel.
Speculators have cut their bearish bets on the Canadian
dollar, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
showed on Friday. As of April 18, net short positions had
decreased to 46,233 contracts from 56,579 in the prior week.
Canadian government bond yields were mixed across a flatter
curve. The 10-year eased 1.1 basis points to 2.928%,
while the gap between it and its U.S. equivalent narrowed by 4.2
basis points to about 59 basis points in favor of the U.S. bond.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Will Dunham)
