Canadian dollar holds on to Friday's rally as oil climbs

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar was little changed against its US counterpart on Monday, with the loonie holding on to Friday's gains as oil prices rose and data showed speculators have raised bullish bets on the currency to a one-year high.

The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose to its highest in just over a year, boosted by supply cuts among key producers and hopes for further US economic stimulus measures that can boost demand.

US crude prices were up 1.1% at $57.49 a barrel, while world shares hit a record high. Shares rose even as South Africa said it had halted the rollout of AstraZeneca's vaccine.

The Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.2754 to the greenback, or 78.41 US cents, having traded in a range of 1.2751 to 1.2783. It gained 0.6% on Friday despite data showing Canada lost far more jobs than expected in January, while it has climbed nearly 15% since March.

The loonie is expected to rally further over the coming year as a global economic recovery takes hold, and the gains could accelerate if investors perceive the Bank of Canada is preparing to reduce monetary stimulus, strategists say.

Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Timothy Lane is due to speak on Wednesday.

As of Feb. 2, speculators had raised net long positions in the Canadian dollar to 16,096 contracts, the most since last February, from 13,770 in the prior week, data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.

Canadian government bond yields were higher across the curve, with the 10-year up 1.8 basis points at 1.017%. It touched its highest intraday level since March last year at 1.026%.