TORONTO: The Canadian dollar strengthened against its US counterpart on Monday as oil rallied, with the loonie posting gains for the first time since the US election last week.
Oil prices bounced back from multi-month lows on expectations that OPEC will agree later this month to cut production to reduce a supply glut. US crude prices were up 3.16 percent to $44.69 a barrel.
The Canadian dollar has given up almost 50 percent of its
gains from January to May. The 50 percent retracement at C$1.3575 is a level being watched by analysts. It is seen as a point for the market to pause and reassess the outlook for the currency.
The US dollar held onto recent gains against a basket of major currencies as US retail sales rose more than expected in October, pointing to sustained economic strength that could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month.
At 9:43 a.m. EDT (1443 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading at C$1.3516 to the greenback, or 73.99 US cents, stronger than Monday's close of C$1.3551, or 73.80 US cents.
The currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.3490, while its weakest was C$1.3563.
On Monday, the loonie touched its weakest in eight months at C$1.3589 before some losses were pared.
Canadian home prices rose in October as continued strength in Ontario, the most populous province, offset the first decline in Vancouver in almost two years, the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index showed.
In separate data, sales of existing Canadian homes rose 2.4 percent in October from September, a report from the Canadian Real Estate Association showed.
Canadian government bond prices were higher across the yield curve, with the two-year up 0.5 Canadian cent to yield 0.668 percent and the benchmark 10-year rising 24 Canadian cents to yield 1.524 percent.
On Monday, the 10-year yield touched its highest in 11 months at 1.591 percent as investors bet that US President-elect Donald Trump will pursue policies that raise inflation.
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