TORONTO: The Canadian dollar edged lower against its US counterpart on Friday but held on to a weekly gain as investors weighed disappointing US economic data and awaited the next round of Washington’s trade tariffs.
The loonie weakened 0.1% to 1.4315 per US dollar, or 69.86 US cents, after moving in a range of 1.4277 to 1.4333.
For the week, the loonie was up 0.2%, its fourth straight weekly gain, as investors bet the US economy would be unable to escape damage from an expanding global trade war.
US consumer spending rebounded less than expected in February while a measure of underlying prices increased by the most in 13 months, stoking fears the economy was facing a period of tepid growth and high inflation.
The data was “underwhelming” and helped cap declines for the Canadian dollar, said Tony Valente, a senior FX dealer at AscendantFX.
“Having said that, I don’t expect much more movement in the currency until we find out what the reciprocal tariffs are all about next week,” Valente added.
US President Donald Trump plans to unveil on April 2 a sweeping agenda of reciprocal tariffs, after announcing on Wednesday a 25% tariff on imported vehicles. Autos rank only behind oil among Canada’s largest exports. Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had a conversation on Friday that both men described as productive, although Carney said Ottawa would be imposing retaliatory tariffs next week as promised.
Canada’s gross domestic product grew by 0.4% on a monthly basis in January, continuing the economic momentum of the last few of months, but a preliminary estimate for February was less upbeat, showing no change in the level of activity. The price of oil fell 0.8% as traders worried about the risk of a global recession.
Canadian bond yields moved lower across the curve, tracking moves in US Treasuries. The 10-year was down 7 basis points at 3.027%.
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