TORONTO: The Canadian dollar edged lower against its US counterpart on Friday but held onto much of its weekly gain, as oil prices rose and investors weighed the potential impact of accelerating US inflation on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
The loonie was 0.1% lower at 1.2727 to the greenback, or 78.76 US cents, after trading in a range of 1.2680 to 1.2738. For the week, the currency was up 0.9%, its first weekly gain in eight weeks as easing concerns over the Omicron COVID-19 variant’s impact on economic growth boosted global stocks and the price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports.
US crude oil futures on Friday settled 1% higher at $71.67 a barrel. “We have seen a recovery in risk sentiment globally this week,” said Stephen Brown, senior Canada economist at Capital Economics.
US consumer prices rose in November at their fastest annual pace since 1982, making it likely the Fed will announce that it is speeding up the wind-down of its massive bond purchases at its policy meeting next week.
“We’ve clearly had a hawkish pivot from the Fed in recent weeks,” Brown said, adding that a more hawkish US central bank could weigh on the loonie next year. The Bank of Canada and Canada’s finance ministry are scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday, officials said, a clear sign they will announce the renewal of their five-year monetary policy framework. Reuters reported on Thursday the BoC would soon announce it was leaving its inflation target at 2%.
On Wednesday, the Canadian central bank stuck with its previous guidance on interest rate hikes, disappointing some investors who had expected a shift to a more hawkish stance. Canadian government bond yields were lower across the curve, with the 10-year rate down 3.2 basis points at 1.485%.
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