The Canadian dollar edged lower for a sixth straight day against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as the greenback posted broad-based gains and minutes from the Bank of Canada’s latest policy decision showed the central bank was content to remain on the sidelines.
The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.3705 per U.S. dollar, or 72.97 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.3685 to 1.3718.
The BoC’s Governing Council felt it could afford to be patient and hold interest rates at 2.25% ahead of its April 29 announcement, while acknowledging the situation might change quickly.
“The Bank of Canada is comfortable standing pat for now amid heightened uncertainty on both sides of the outlook,” Benjamin Reitzes, Canadian rates & macro strategist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note.
“We’ll likely need to see a few inflation reports for policymakers to be convinced that price pressures are broadening … while the rise in the unemployment rate suggests the last thing the economy needs is higher policy rates.”
Data on Friday showed that Canada’s economy lost 17,700 jobs in April and the unemployment rate rose to a six-month high of 6.9%, indicating continued weakness in a labor market that has struggled in the face of trade uncertainty.
Still, investors are betting that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates twice by December as the recent surge in oil prices boosts the inflation outlook.
The price of oil settled 1.1% lower at $101.02 a barrel, giving back some recent gains. Oil is one of Canada’s major exports.
The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies, supported by the latest hot U.S. inflation reading.
Canadian government bond yields edged lower across a flatter curve. The 10-year was down 1.5 basis points at 3.577%, after earlier touching an eight-day high at 3.610%.