Canadian dollar steadies as oil pullback loses some steam - Reuters News
Canadian dollar steadies as oil pullback loses some steam - Reuters News
- Canadian dollar trades in a range of 1.2473 to 1.2534
- Price of U.S. oil was little changed at $61.40 a barrel
- Canadian bond yields ease across a flatter curve
TORONTO, March 22 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as oil, one of Canada's major exports, steadied and ahead of a speech on Tuesday by a senior Bank of Canada official.
U.S. crude CLc1 prices were little changed at $61.40 a barrel after a broad sell-off last week when new European coronavirus lockdowns dimmed hopes for a quick economic recovery. (Full Story)
The Canadian dollar CAD= was trading nearly unchanged at 1.2495 to the greenback, or 80.03 U.S. cents, having traded in a range of 1.2473 to 1.2534. Last Thursday, the loonie touched a three-year high at 1.2361.
Speculators have cut their bullish bets on the Canadian dollar for the second straight week, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday. As of March 16, net long positions had decreased to 10,263 contracts from 10,981 in the prior week.
Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle will speak on Tuesday on the role of the central bank in responding to market-wide stress, which could offer clues on the policy outlook.
The BoC is likely to reduce its bond purchases as soon as next month, strategists say, which would provide the clearest signal yet that Canada's economy requires less help to emerge from the coronavirus crisis. (Full Story)
Data on Friday showed retail sales falling less than expected in January, while sales were estimated to rebound 4% in February. (Full Story)
Canadian government bond yields were lower across a flatter curve in tandem with U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year CA10YT=RR fell 4.1 basis points to 1.547%, extending its pullback from a 14-month high on Thursday at 1.677%.
Canada's No. 2 railroad operator agreed on Sunday to acquire Kansas City Southern KSU.N in a $25 billion cash-and-stock deal to create the first railway spanning the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Canada February wholesale trade seen falling 0.4% on month - Statscan flash estimate - Reuters News
OTTAWA, March 22 (Reuters) - Canadian wholesale trade most likely fell by 0.4% in February from January on lower sales in the building materials and supplies, and machinery, equipment and supplies subsectors, Statistics Canada said in a flash estimate on Monday.
The estimate was calculated based on a weighted response rate of 48.9%. The average final response rate for the survey over the past 12 months has been 86.5%, the agency said.
U.S. existing home sales drop sharply; prices surge - Reuters News
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. home sales fell more than expected in February as cold weather blanketed many parts of the country, and a rebound could be muted by rising mortgage rates as well as higher house prices amid tight supply.
The National Association of Realtors said on Monday that existing home sales dropped 6.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.22 million units last month.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales would drop 3.0% to a rate of 6.50 million units in February. Home resales, which account for the bulk of U.S. home sales, increased 9.1% on a year-on-year basis. Last month, sales declined in the Northeast, South and the Midwest, but rose in the West.
Bitterly cold weather, including severe winter storms in Texas and other parts of the densely populated South region, disrupted economic activity last month, depressing retail sales, production at factories and homebuilding.
Warmer temperatures, an acceleration in the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations and massive fiscal stimulus are expected to spur a sharp rebound in activity in March.
The housing market, however, is seen lagging after being one of the main drivers of the economic recovery as Americans sought bigger and more expensive houses for home offices and remote schooling during the pandemic.
Home resales have been running ahead of contracts. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has risen to a nine-month high of 3.09%, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac. Though mortgage rates remain historically low, the sustained increase since February is contributing to making homeownership more expensive for first-time buyers.
Mortgage rates have risen in tandem with U.S. Treasury yields, which have spiked in anticipation of stronger economic growth this year and higher inflation.
The median existing house price jumped 15.8% from a year ago to $313,000 in February. Prices are being squeezed higher by an acute shortage of homes available for sale. There were 1.03 million previously owned homes on the market in February, a record 29.5% decline from one year ago.
Builders are being constrained by record lumber prices as well as shortages of land and labor. At February's sales pace, it would take two months to exhaust the current inventory, an all-time low and down from 3.1 months a year ago.
A six-to-seven-month supply is viewed as a healthy balance between supply and demand.
Euro zone current account surplus narrows in January - Reuters News
FRANKFURT, March 22 (Reuters) - The euro zone's current account surplus narrowed in January due to a bigger deficit in secondary income, which includes outflows such as remittances and taxes, European Central Bank data showed on Monday.
The bloc of 19 countries sharing the euro recorded a current account surplus of 30.5 billion euros in January, down from 36.7 billion euros in December but up from 15.9 billion registered a year earlier, according to adjusted figures.
Based on unadjusted data, the surplus narrowed to 5.8 billion euros from 51.9 billion euros, mirroring similar swings recorded in the first month of previous years.
In the 12 months to January, the current account surplus was 2.3% of the bloc's GDP, up from 2.2% in the preceding 12 month period.
