Canadian dollar posts biggest weekly decline in 11 months

THE Canadian dollar weakened to a near five-month low against its broadly stronger US counterpart on Friday (Apr 12) as investors seized upon recent economic data to bet the Bank of Canada would begin cutting interest rates before the US Federal Reserve.

The loonie was trading 0.6 per cent lower at 1.3765 to the US dollar, or 72.65 US cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since Nov 14 at 1.3779.

For the week, the currency was down 1.3 per cent, its biggest weekly decline since May 2023.

“Even though the US dollar is being bid up across the board, you could see this (Canadian dollar weakness) brewing after the employment numbers last Friday,” said Tony Valente, senior FX dealer at AscendantFX.

Data released last Friday showed that Canada’s economy surprisingly shed jobs in March and US jobs growth beat expectations. Since then, BOC governor Tiff Macklem has said a rate cut in June was possible, and US data showed consumer prices rising more than expected last month.

“With inflation remaining sticky, the Fed has no choice but to push back on rate cuts,” Valente said.

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Investors are expecting the Federal Reserve to wait until at least July before easing rates, while they see a roughly 50 per cent chance of a first rate cut by BOC in June.

Canadian home sales rose 0.5 per cent in March from February, and were up 1.7 per cent on an annual basis, data from the Canadian Real Estate Association showed.

Canada plans to build nearly 3.9 million houses by 2031 under a new federal initiative, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, as the country grapples with a gulf between demand and supply of accommodation. REUTERS