TORONTO: The Canadian dollar edged lower against its US counterpart on Friday but was holding near its highest level in more than six weeks, as oil prices rose and robust US jobs data bolstered expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.2585 to the greenback, or 79.46 US cents, after touching its strongest since April 21 at 1.2552.

For the week, the currency was on track to advance 1.1%, its third straight week of gains, as the Bank of Canada raised interest rates by half a percentage point for the second straight policy meeting.

The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, was supported on Friday by expectations that OPEC’s decision to increase production targets by slightly more than planned won’t much affect tight global supply and by rising demand as China eases COVID restrictions.

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