Canadian forex review: C$ closes little changed

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, Feb. 5 – The Canadian dollar was nearly unchanged against the US dollar on Wednesday, as traders were being cautious ahead of the release of Canadian and US employment data on Friday, February 7, analysts said.

Positioning ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting on Thursday, February 6, was also a feature of the trade.

The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.9025 or US$1=C$1.1080 on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday’s North American settlement of US$0.9024 or US$=C$1.1081.

Disappointing building data out of Canada was bearish for the loonie. Statistics Canada reported building permits were down 4.1% to C$6.5 billion in December, below expectations of a 1.5% increase.

On the other side, spillover support came from the advances seen in commodity prices, including crude oil, gold and copper, brokers said.

Canadian bonds closed lower, as traders continued to bail out of the fixed-income market to invest in equity markets due to signs of improvement within the US economy, participants noted.

The two-year bond yielded 0.980% late Wednesday, from 0.962% late Tuesday. The 10-year bond yielded 2.381%, from 2.344%. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.