Canadian dollar rises to 12-day high as BoC minutes support move to the sidelines
The Canadian dollar strengthened on Wednesday to its highest level against the greenback this month as investors monitored progress toward the expected reopening of the U.S. government and after minutes from the Bank of Canada's latest meeting did little to alter a perception that the central bank's easing campaign is on hold.
The loonie was trading 0.1% higher at 1.40 per U.S. dollar, or 71.43 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest intraday level since October 31 at 1.3991.
"The (U.S.) dollar and the stock market did well when the government was closed and tomorrow the U.S. government is likely to reopen," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex LLC.
The U.S. House of Representatives will try to end the longest government shutdown in the country's history on Wednesday. Wall Street's main indexes were mixed, and the U.S. dollar (.DXY), steadied against a basket of major currencies.
The Bank of Canada decided to look through "choppy" annual inflation data and consider underlying indicators, minutes of the central bank's October meeting showed. At that meeting, the BoC lowered its benchmark rate to a three-year low of 2.25% and said the rate is at about the right level to keep inflation close to target.
"The takeaway message I think is that barring another shock, the Bank of Canada is done (easing)," Chandler said.
The price of oil , one of Canada's major exports, settled 4.2% lower at $58.49 a barrel, weighed down by an OPEC report saying global oil supply will match demand in 2026. That marked a further shift from OPEC's earlier projections of a supply deficit.
Canadian bond yields fell across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year was down 3.7 basis points at 3.137%.
