Canadian dollar holds near 2-week low even as tariff deadline delayed

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
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Reuters
Canadian dollar holds near 2-week low even as tariff deadline delayed teaser image

TORONTO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened to a two-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as trade uncertainty lingered for the domestic economy even after U.S. President Donald Trump pushed back a deadline to impose tariffs on Canadian goods.

The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.4330 per U.S. dollar, or 69.78 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since February 10 at 1.4365.

President Donald Trump said stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada would take effect on April 2, about a month later than an earlier deadline for the levies to take effect, giving the loonie a short-lived boost.

"It's another month, which is obviously good news for Canada but the tariff uncertainty is a real drag on the Canadian economy," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive.

Canada sends about 75% of its exports to the United States.

On Friday, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said tariffs and subsequent retaliation from Canada could almost wipe out any domestic growth in 2025 and 2026.

The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, fell as a surprise build in U.S. fuel stockpiles signalled demand weakness and a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine continued to weigh on prices. U.S. crude oil futures were down 0.5% at $68.57 a barrel.

Canadian bond yields were mixed across a flatter curve. The 10-year was down one basis point at 2.984% after earlier touching its lowest level since February 7 at 2.973%.

Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Paul Simao and Aurora Ellis

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