The Canadian dollar was little changed against the greenback on Tuesday, with the currency recovering from a two-month low hit earlier in the day on global economic worries as the focus shifted to this week’s Bank of Canada interest rate decision.
At 2:38 p.m. (1838 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3325 to the greenback, or 75.05 U.S. cents. The currency, which fell last week for the seventh straight week, touched its weakest intraday level since June 19 at 1.3382.
“It is now in a nice holding pattern, waiting for the Bank of Canada tomorrow,” said Amo Sahota, director at Klarity FX in San Francisco. “We think the Bank of Canada is going to signal that they may join the chorus of other central banks looking at lowering their interest rates.”
Money markets expect the Bank of Canada to leave its benchmark interest rate on hold at 1.75 per cent on Wednesday but to ease by the end of the year. The central bank has worried about the risks trade wars pose to the global economy.
Data on Tuesday showed that Canadian manufacturing activity slowed in August as new work received by firms slumped to the lowest level in nearly four years, pressured by trade tensions between the United States and China and global economic uncertainty.
The U.S. dollar climbed to its strongest level in over two years against a basket of currencies as traders favoured the greenback on worries about U.S.-China trade tensions and a chaotic British exit from the European Union.
But the greenback’s initial gains abated in the wake of a private report that showed the U.S. manufacturing sector recorded its first monthly contraction since 2016 in August.
The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, fell after manufacturing data raised concerns about a weakening global economy, while the U.S.-China trade dispute continued to drag on investor sentiment. U.S. crude oil futures settled 2.1 per cent lower at $53.94 a barrel.
Canadian government bond prices were higher across the yield curve in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. The two-year rose 4.5 Canadian cents to yield 1.329 per cent and the 10-year was up 35 Canadian cents to yield 1.128 per cent.
Last month, the 10-year yield hit its lowest intraday level since October 2016 at 1.083 per cent.
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