CANADA FX DEBT-Canadian dollar edges lower as higher oil price fails to spur currency
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, March 11 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as the greenback notched broad-based gains and investors gave the loonie little credit for recent gains in crude oil.
The loonie CAD= was trading 0.1% lower at 1.3590 per U.S. dollar, or 73.58 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.3556 to 1.3605.
The U.S. dollar .DXY rose against a basket of major currencies as investors remained on edge over further escalation in the Middle East conflict that has driven up energy prices worldwide. The price of oil CLc1, one of Canada's major exports, settled 4.55% higher at $87.25 a barrel.
Canada will look at ways to increase its crude production to help global efforts to stabilize oil prices in the face of the Iran war, Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said.
"Clearly, oil at $80 is a huge tailwind for the Canadian terms of trade and investment but it's not reflected at all in the currency at the moment, in large part because it's seen as temporary but also because there's this cloud of trade negotiations," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at investingLive.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which has shielded much of Canada's exports from U.S. tariffs, is set for review by a July 1 deadline.
Canadian trade data for January is due on Thursday and the February employment report is set for the end of the week, which could guide expectations for next week's Bank of Canada interest rate decision.
Investors have moved in recent days to price in an interest rate hike this year after the spike in oil prices raised concerns globally about the outlook for inflation. 0#CADIRPR
Canadian bond yields moved higher across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries after U.S. consumer prices picked up in February. The 10-year CA10YT=RR was up 7.4 basis points at 3.484%, marking its highest level since January 2.
