Canadian dollar dips amid rising global COVID-19 restrictions

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart on Thursday as widening global COVID-19 restrictions weighed on investor sentiment, with the currency pulling back from a one-week high the day before.

World stocks eased for the third day in a row as record coronavirus infection rates and tougher measures to contain the virus in a number of countries offset recent positive news on potential vaccines.

The US death toll from COVID-19 surpassed a grim new milestone of 250,000 on Wednesday, as New York City shut schools in the United States' largest public school district.

Canada sends about 75% of its exports to the United States, including oil.

US crude prices were down 0.4% at $41.66 a barrel on Thursday, while the Canadian dollar fell 0.1% to 1.3098 per US dollar, or 76.35 US cents.

The currency traded in a range of 1.3075 to 1.3123. On Wednesday, it posted a one-week high intraday at 1.3030.

Britain is determined to reach a trade deal with Canada before the end of the year, UK trade minister Liz Truss said on Thursday, underlining that after securing a continuity agreement the two countries could go much further.

Canadian employment declined by 79,500 in October, a report from payroll services provider ADP showed. Earlier this month, data from Statistics Canada showed that the economy added jobs in October.

Canada's retail sales report for September is due on Friday.

Canadian government bond yields were mixed across a flatter curve on Thursday. The 10-year yield fell 1.9 basis points to 0.688%. It has pulled back from a seven-month high last Friday at 0.813%.