C$ lags greenback, beats other G10 currencies ahead of Poloz

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar fell to a two-week low versus the greenback on Thursday, but ahead of a speech by Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, fared better than other G10 currencies as worries eased that a NAFTA trade deal would not be reached.

Criticism on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump that talks to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement were moving too slowly had helped send the loonie to its weakest intraday level since Sept. 11 at $1.3083.

But Canada shrugged off the complaint and made clear it had to keep negotiating as long as there was a chance of success.

"You have had the market do a bit of a rethink because I think the path forward on a bilateral US-Mexico deal is still pretty challenging," said Eric Theoret, a currency strategist at Scotiabank.

Trump has already concluded a text with Mexico, the third country in NAFTA, and is threatening to leave out Canada unless it signs up by Sunday.

Canada sends about 75 percent of its exports to the United States, so its economy could be hurt if a deal is not reached or if Trump follows through on a threat to impose tariffs on Canadian autos.

At 4:01 p.m. (2001 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading 0.2 percent lower at C$1.3047 to the greenback, or 76.65 US cents, the smallest decline against the US dollar among G10 currencies.

"I still think there is a reasonable probability of a deal this weekend," said Greg Anderson, global head of foreign exchange strategy at BMO Capital Markets. "It always gets the most intense right at the end on any type of negotiation because people actually have to move red lines."