By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, Jan. 26 – The Canadian dollar continued its downward spiral against the US dollar on Monday, dropping another quarter of a cent.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.8023 or US$1=C$1.2464 on Monday, which compares with Friday’s North American settlement of US$0.8049 or US$1=C$1.2424.
Expectations that the US Federal Reserve may hint at raising interest rates during an announcement later this week weighed on the loonie, analysts said.
Further downward pressure came from worries about slow global economic growth and last week’s unexpected cut to Canadian interest rates.
Weakness in commodity prices, including crude oil and gold, added to the bearish tone, market watchers said.
There was no significant Canadian economic data released on Monday. Traders were looking ahead to Statistics Canada’s gross domestic product data release on Friday.
Canadian bonds ended mixed on Monday, after worries about economic problems in the euro zone started to ease, participants said.
The two-year bond yielded 0.523% late Monday, from 0.543% late Friday. The 10-year bond yielded 1.471%, from 1.444%. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.
