The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, trimming some of this week’s rally, as domestic data showed a smaller-than-expected increase in retail sales in April.
Canadian retail sales grew by 0.1 per cent in April from March, led by higher sales at gasoline stations, Statistics Canada said. While the April increase was less than the 0.2 per cent advance that analysts had expected, March’s already large gain was revised higher to 1.3 per cent.
At 9:07 a.m. (1307 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading 0.1 per cent lower at 1.3203 to the greenback, or 75.74 U.S. cents. The currency, which on Thursday touched its strongest in more than three months at 1.3151, traded in a range of 1.3163 to 1.3207.
For the week, the loonie was on track to rise 1.6 per cent, boosted by the prospect of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, data showing a seven-month high for Canada’s annual rate of inflation and a rally in the price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports.
Oil added to this week’s gains on fears of a U.S. military attack on Iran that would disrupt flows from the Middle East, the source of more than one-fifth of the world’s crude. U.S. crude oil futures were up 0.1 per cent at $57.14 a barrel.
Canadian government bond prices were lower across the yield curve in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. The two-year fell 3 Canadian cents to yield 1.436 per cent and the 10-year
declined 13 Canadian cents to yield 1.480 per cent.
On Tuesday, the 10-year touched its lowest intraday yield in two years at 1.383 per cent.
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