Canadian Forex Review: C$ Eases Fractionally

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg – April 1/13 – CNS – The Canadian dollar was
trading at a fractionally easier level versus the US currency in
late North American activity on Monday. The minor downswing in
the value of the Canadian currency was associated with soft US
economic data and the downtrend seen in global crude oil, market
watchers said.

Activity in the currency markets was on the light side,
given the Easter Monday holidays in Europe.

The Canadian currency late in the afternoon was quoted at
C$1.0162 (98.40 US cents). This compares with Thursday’s late
North American quote of C$1.0160 (98.43 US cents).

The Canadian dollar lost some ground on news that a survey
of US manufacturers showed the sector slowed more than expected
in March. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing
purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.3 in March, below
expectations of a slight decline to 54.0.

The general declines seen in the North american equity
sector also prompted some of the downswing in the Canadian unit,
brokers said.

Canadian bonds ended with modest advances along the yield
curve on Monday responding to investor demand after disappointing
data on the manufacturing sector in the US, market watchers said.

Canada’s two-year bond yield was at 0.995% Monday, from
1.000% Friday. The 10-year bond yielded 1.847%, from 1.866%. Bond
yields move inversely to bond prices.

Canadian bonds did not have the benefit of any significant
domestic releases Monday and in turn followed US Treasurys
higher.
END