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 U.S. 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.
U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
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Canadian government bond yields were higher across the curve, tracking the move in U.S. 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)