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TORONTO — The Canadian dollar edged lower
against the greenback on Monday, as investors weighed warnings
that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time and a major trade
route between Canada and the United States reopened.
World shares skidded and the safe-haven US dollar
gained ground against a basket of major currencies as the United
States said Russia might create a surprise pretext for an attack
on Ukraine.
Still, hints by Ukraine at possible concessions to Russia
helped cap the price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports.
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US crude prices fell 0.6% to $92.55 a barrel, while
the Canadian dollar was trading 0.1% lower at 1.2752 to the
greenback, or 78.42 US cents. It touched its weakest intraday
level since Feb. 4 at 1.2783.
North America’s busiest trade link reopened for traffic late
Sunday evening, ending a six-day blockade, the Canada Border
Services Agency said, after Canadian police cleared the
protesters fighting to end COVID-19 restrictions.
Canada’s inflation report for January, due on Wednesday,
could offer clues on the outlook for Bank of Canada interest
rate hikes. Money markets expect the central bank to tighten
next month for the first time since October 2018 to fight
inflation.
Canadian government bond yields were higher across the
curve, tracking the move in US Treasuries.
The 10-year was up 3.3 basis points at 1.904%,
after touching on Friday its highest intraday level in nearly
three years at 1.961%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith
Editing by Paul Simao)
financialpost.com