Loonie advances to 2-week high on economic recovery hopes

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar strengthened to a near two-week high against its US counterpart on Tuesday after European economic data bolstered hopes of a swift recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

World stocks rallied as euro zone Purchasing Managers' Indexes (PMIs) thumped expectations and after assurances from US President Donald Trump that the US-China trade deal remained "fully intact."

Canada is a major producer of commodities, including oil, so the loonie tends to be sensitive to the global economic outlook. US crude oil futures were up 0.6% at $40.96 a barrel.

At 9:23 a.m. (1323 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading 0.1% higher at 1.3501 to the greenback, or 74.07 US cents. The currency touched its strongest intraday level since June 11 at 1.3486.

Canada's banking regulator kept the amount of capital the country's six biggest lenders must hold at a record-low 1% of risk-weighted assets, and said it was prepared to lower it further if needed.

The United States is planning to re-impose tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada, Bloomberg reported late on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Canadian government bond yields were mixed across a flatter curve, with the 2-year up 1.7 basis points at 0.317%.