TORONTO: The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as investors remained undecided as to whether the Bank of Canada would tighten further next month following mixed inflation data for November.
Canada’s annual inflation rate eased slightly to 6.8% in November from 6.9% in October as a slower pace of gas price increases offset a surge in shelter costs, Statistics Canada data showed.
Still, that was a notch above analyst forecasts, while underlying price pressures picked up. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 5.4% compared with a rise of 5.3% in October.
Money markets see a 45% chance of a 25 basis point rate increase at the BoC’s next policy decision on Jan. 25, up from 42% before the data.
The Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3614 to the greenback, or 73.45 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.3590 to 1.3637.
The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, rose after data suggested a larger than expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles, but gains were capped by growing concerns over demand in China and a snow storm that is expected to hit U.S. travel.
U.S. crude prices were up 2.2% at $77.88 a barrel.
Bond markets settled down after volatility on Tuesday when the Bank of Japan shocked investors by tweaking its policy.
Canada’s 10-year yield touched its highest level since Nov. 30 at 3.036% before pulling back to 2.976%, down 3.4 basis points on the day.
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