Canadian dollar weakens as oil stumbles, greenback gains

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TORONTO — The Canadian dollar weakened

against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as a rally in the

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Canadian dollar weakens as oil stumbles, greenback gains Back to video

price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, lost some momentum

and the greenback broadly climbed.

The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major

currencies as a court decision challenging German participation

in the euro zone’s stimulus program weighed on the euro.

U.S. crude oil futures were down 5.2% at $23.29 a

barrel, pulling back from a near four-week high earlier in the

session, as a report showing a higher-than-expected rise in U.S.

inventories offset hopes for a recovery in demand as some

countries ease coronavirus lockdowns.

At 8:29 a.m. (1229 GMT), the Canadian dollar was

trading 0.4% lower at 1.4101 to the greenback, or 70.92 U.S.

cents. The currency traded in a range of 1.4023 to 1.4108.

The decline for the loonie came as a report showed U.S.

private employers laid off more than 20 million workers in

April. Canada sends about 75% of its exports to the United

States.

Canada’s jobs report for April is due on Friday. Economists

are looking for employment to plunge by four million as

non-essential business activity shut down across the country,

adding to a jobs decline of one million in March.

Canadian bond yields rose across a flatter curve, with the

2-year up 2.4 basis points at 0.335%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Bernadette Baum)