* Loonie trades in a range of 1.3557 to 1.3584
* Price of U.S. oil settles 1.7% higher
* Ten-year yield touches its highest level since Feb. 13
TORONTO, April 2 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar was
little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as higher
commodity prices offset increased investor nervousness about the
timing of interest rate cuts.
The loonie was nearly unchanged at 1.3570 to the U.S.
dollar, or 73.69 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.3557
to 1.3584. It extends the sideways pattern for the USD-CAD
currency pair in recent months.
“I think the market is waiting for a crack in the U.S. or
Canadian economy to dictate the next move in USD-CAD,” said Adam
Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive. “There has been
some broader U.S. dollar strength, but it’s mitigated by higher
commodity prices.”
Canada is a major producer of commodities, including gold,
which notched a fresh record high, and oil.
U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.7% higher at $85.15
a barrel as oil supplies faced fresh threats from Ukrainian
attacks on Russian energy facilities, while Wall Street’s main
indexes dropped as recent strong economic data raised doubts
over the three rate cuts that the Fed has outlined for this
year.
The Bank of Canada is also expected to begin cutting rates
this year but likely not as soon as a policy announcement next
week. Canada’s jobs report for March, due on Friday, could offer
clues on the strength of the domestic economy.
Economists forecast a gain of 25,000 jobs.
“We have a series of top-tier data coming up. I expect much
more volatility before the week is out,” Button said.
Canadian government bond yields moved higher across the
curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year
was up 3.2 basis points at 3.620%, after earlier
touching its highest level since Feb. 13 at 3.678%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Paul Simao)
