Canadian dollar extends weekly decline on Fed's hawkish shift

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar fell to a seven-week low against its US counterpart on Friday and was on track for its biggest weekly decline since March last year, as the Federal Reserve's more hawkish stance weighed on stock markets and commodity prices.

Benchmark copper has fallen nearly 8% this week, while oil fell on Friday for a second straight session, down 0.30% at $70.83 a barrel.

Canada is a major producer of commodities, which have benefited from Fed stimulus. On Wednesday, the US central bank signaled interest rate hikes could begin in 2023, sooner than previous guidance of 2024.

The Canadian dollar was trading 0.3% lower at 1.2388 to the greenback, or 80.72 US cents, after earlier touching its weakest level since April 28 at 1.2399. For the week, it was down 1.8%.

Domestic data showed new home prices rising in May at an annual rate of 11.3%, the largest increase since November 2006.

On Wednesday, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said the central bank is starting to see signs that the country's red-hot housing market is cooling down, although a return to normality will take time.

Canadian government bond yields were higher across the curve, with the 10-year up 1.5 basis points at 1.409%.

The gap between the 10-year and 2-year rates widened by about half a basis point, after hitting on Thursday its narrowest in nearly four months at 1%.