Canadian dollar hits two-and-a-half-month low
TORONTO — The Canadian dollar weakened to a two-and-ahalf-month low against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as trade tensions weighed on global equity markets and investors awaited a Bank of Canada interest rate decision on Wednesday.
U.S. stocks fell as Washington’s new round of tariffs on some Chinese goods kicked in and after a report that officials from both sides were struggling to decide on the schedule for a meeting this month.
Canada exports many commodities, including oil, so its economy could be hurt by a slowdown in global trade.
Data on Tuesday showed that Canadian manufacturing activity slowed in August as new work received by firms slumped to the lowest level in nearly four years.
Meanwhile, the price of oil was pressured by rising OPEC and Russian oil output as well as the protracted U.s.-china trade dispute that has dragged on the global economy. U.S. crude oil futures
At 9:53 a.m. (1353 GMT), the Canadian dollar
Data on Friday showing that Canada’s economy grew much more than expected in the second quarter has supported expectations that the Bank of Canada will leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.75% at Wednesday’s announcement. Still, economists in a Reuters poll see increased likelihood of a rate cut by year-end.
Canadian government bond prices were higher across the yield curve, with the two-year
Last month, the 10-year yield hit its lowest intraday level since October 2016 at 1.083%.