Canadian forex review: C$ eases

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, Oct. 21 – The Canadian dollar eased slightly against its US counterpart on Monday, as traders were being cautious and booking profits ahead of a slew of economic indicators expected later this week, analysts said.

Statistics Canada will release Canadian retail sales data on Tuesday for the month of August, which are expected to rise 0.3%.

The Bank of Canada will make its next interest rate announcement on Wednesday, and it is expected to remain unchanged.

There’s also some US data that will likely impact the Canadian dollar due out this week. September US employment data will be reported on Tuesday, which was supposed to be released on October 4, but was delayed amid the US government shutdown.

The Canadian currency was quoted at US$0.9708 or US$1=C$1.0301 at the close on Monday, which compares with Friday’s North American close of US$0.9714 or US$=C$1.0294.

Sharp losses seen in crude oil values, one of Canada’s biggest exports, put downward pressure on the Canadian dollar.

Canadian bonds were lower, as traders took profits ahead of the slew of economic indicators that are expected to be released this week, brokers said.

The two-year bond yielded 1.201% late Monday, from 1.180% late Friday. The 10-year bond yielded 2.558%, from 2.532%. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.