By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, Nov. 22 – The Canadian dollar closed little changed against its US counterpart on Friday, recovering from earlier weakness when the loonie fell below the 95 cents US mark.
The Canadian currency was quoted at US$0.9502 or US$1=C$1.0524 at the close on Friday, which compares with Thursday’s North American settlement of US$0.9505 or US$=C$1.0521.
Some of the early weakness was linked to disappointing Canadian inflation data. According to Statistics Canada, the consumer price index rose 0.7% in October, which was below expectations of a 0.9% jump.
Spillover pressure from the losses seen in crude oil and gold prices was also bearish for the Canadian dollar.
But, the Canadian currency recovered, as it was underpinned by positive Canadian retail sales data. StatsCan reported an increase of 1.0% for retail sales in September, which was above expectations of a 0.3% rise.
Canadian bonds moved higher in reaction to the weaker than anticipated Canadian inflation data, participants said.
The two-year bond yielded 1.106% late Friday, from 1.087% late Thursday. The 10-year bond yielded 2.586%, from 2.623%. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.
