By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, Jan. 12 – The Canadian dollar was down sharply relative to the US dollar on Monday, dropping nearly three-quarters of a cent. The loonie’s decline was linked to ongoing weakness in crude oil values, which fell another nearly 5 per cent Monday.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.8356 or US$1=C$1.1967 on Monday, which compares with Friday’s North American settlement of US$0.8427 or US$1=C$1.1866.
Weakness in other commodities, such as copper, was also bearish, as was Friday’s disappointing Canadian employment data, brokers added.
Though, gold prices rallied, providing a small amount of support for the Canadian currency.
Canadian bonds closed sharply higher on Monday, outperforming US Treasury markets as crude oil continued to tumble.
The two-year bond yielded 0.924% late Monday, from 0.951% late Friday. The 10-year bond yielded 1.614%, from 1.659%. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.
