The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, rebounding from an earlier 10-day low, as oil prices steadied and investors weighed prospects of additional Bank of Canada interest rate hikes.
Stocks rose and the price of oil stabilized, having suffered tailspins in the previous session as the United States ratcheted up trade war threats on China.
U.S. crude oil futures settled 0.1 per cent lower at $70.33 a barrel.
Canada exports many commodities, including oil, and runs a current account deficit so its economy could be hurt if the flow of trade or capital slows.
The steadier profile for oil helped investors focus on the message the Bank of Canada sent on Wednesday about the prospect of additional rate hikes.
“The bank is serious about removing accommodation,” said Mark Chandler, head of Canadian fixed income and currency strategy at RBC Capital Markets. “I think that is more of a factor in the medium term than a one day move in oil prices.”
The central bank raised rates on Wednesday for the fourth time since July 2017, bring borrowing costs to 1.50 per cent -about halfway back from ultralow levels of 2015 to a neutral rate that neither boosts nor hinders growth.
It said higher rates will be warranted to keep inflation near target. Money markets see a roughly 60 per cent chance of another hike by December.
At 3:30 p.m. EDT, the Canadian dollar was trading 0.3 per cent higher at $1.3166 to the greenback, or 75.95 U.S. cents.
The currency touched its weakest intraday since July 2 at $1.3218.
Canadian home prices rose in June from May, the fourth straight rise after weakness late last year, returning national prices to just barely above the previous peak in August 2017, the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index showed.
Separate data from Statistics Canada showed that new home prices in Canada were flat in May for a third month in a row.
Canadian government bond prices were mixed across the yield curve after U.S. data pointed to a steady buildup of inflation pressures that could keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest rate increases.
The two-year rose 1 cent to yield 1.946 per cent and the 10-year declined 8 cents to yield 2.160 per cent.
On Wednesday, the 2-year yield touched its highest in nearly seven weeks at 1.977 per cent.