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Loonie trades in a range of 1.3373 to 1.3463
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Price of U.S. oil settles 0.5% lower
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Canadian bond yields rise across curve
(Adds dealer quotes and details throughout; updates prices)
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Feb 9 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, with the currency giving back its earlier gains as equity markets fell and ahead of jobs data that could offer clues on the strength of the domestic economy.
The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.3460 per greenback, or 74.29 U.S. cents, after being in a range of 1.3373 to 1.3463.
“It’s tracking equities,” said Amo Sahota, director at Klarity FX in San Francisco, adding that the currency was unlikely to break out of its recent range ahead of Canadian jobs data on Friday and next Tuesday’s U.S. inflation report.
“I would be surprised if we break out of 1.35, or 1.33 on the downside, before we see the U.S. inflation numbers come out,” Sahota said. “If U.S. inflation looks stronger than expected I would expect to see a flush out of risk assets again.”
U.S. stock indexes turned lower after a higher open and the price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, settled down 0.5% at $78.06 a barrel. A tight U.S. labour market has reduced optimism the Federal Reserve will soon be able to pause its aggressive tightening campaign.
The Bank of Canada has already signaled a pause. Economists forecast that Canada’s economy added 15,000 jobs in January after a blockbuster 104,000 increase in December.
Canadian government bond yields were higher across the curve, tracking the move in U.S. Treasuries.
The 10-year was up 5 basis points at 3.066%, moving back in reach of the near four-week high it touched on Tuesday at 3.109%. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jonathan Oatis)
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