By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, Feb. 27 – The Canadian dollar closed slightly stronger relative to the US dollar on Friday, finding some spillover support from the gains seen in crude oil, analysts said.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.7998 or US$1=C$1.2503 on Friday, which compares with Thursday’s North American settlement of US$0.7983 or US$1=C$1.2527.
The squaring of positions ahead of next week’s Bank of Canada interest rate announcement, was also supportive, as most traders believe they will keep it unchanged.
However, better than expected US economic data limited the upside. The US Commerce Department said GDP grew by 2.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014, beating expectations of a 2.0 per cent rise.
Canadian bonds ended higher on Friday, and had a better performance to the upside than the US Treasury market, brokers said.
The two-year bond yielded 0.473% Friday, from 0.505% late Thursday. The 10-year bond yielded 1.306%, from 1.355%. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.
