The Canadian dollar CADUSD weakened to a near two-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as oil gave back some of its recent gains and investors awaited key testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Global shares eased and the U.S. dollar rose ahead of Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee that could offer a steer on the outlook for U.S. interest rates, while weak Chinese trade data dented oil and copper.
The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, fell as a stronger U.S. dollar and weak oil data from top crude oil importer China shifted momentum after five days of gains.
U.S. crude prices fell around 0.4 per cent to $80.16 a barrel, while the Canadian dollar was trading 0.4 per cent lower at 1.3660 to the U.S. currency, or 73.21 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest since Feb. 24 at 1.3663.
The Bank of Canada is due to make a policy decision on Wednesday. Investors expect the BoC to leave its policy rate on hold at a 15-year high of 4.50 per cent following eight consecutive hikes, but see about a 70 per cent chance that the central bank may resume tightening later this year.
Canadian government bond yields were lower across the curve, tracking the move in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year eased 3.9 basis points to 3.322 per cent.