By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, March 19 – The Canadian dollar was down sharply against the US dollar on Thursday, following the weakness seen in crude oil values, analysts said.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.7858 or US$1=C$1.2726 on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday’s North American settlement of US$0.7955 or US$1=C$1.2570.
Sentiment that Wednesday’s rally was overdone added to the bearish tone, as did ongoing concerns about slow economic growth in Canada as oil prices remain soft.
However, some support came from Wednesday’s US Federal Reserve announcement, which said they will wait for more improvement in the US labour market before raising interest rates.
There was no significant Canadian economic data released on Thursday. Traders were looking ahead to Friday’s retail sales and consumer price index data from Statistics Canada.
Canadian bonds ended mostly lower on Thursday, taking some direction from the weakness seen in the US Treasury market, brokers said.
The two-year bond yielded 0.482% Thursday, from 0.487% late Wednesday. The 10-year bond yielded 1.322%, from 1.319%. Bond yields rise as their prices fall.
