By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, July 23 – The Canadian dollar finished slightly higher relative to the US dollar on Wednesday, but was unable to break out of its recent narrow trading range.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.9321 or US$1=C$1.0729 on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday’s North American settlement of US$0.9314 or US$1=C$1.0736.
Some support came from positive Canadian retail sales data, analysts said. Statistics Canada reported retail sales rose 0.7 per cent to C$42 billion in May, beating expectations of a 0.6 per cent jump. But, retail sales without car purchases were only up 0.1 per cent, below the expectations for a 0.3 per cent rise.
Spillover buying came from the strength seen in crude oil values, though weakness in gold prices was bearish for the Canadian dollar.
Canadian bonds moved slightly lower, with traders being cautious due to a lack of fresh domestic market moving news this week, brokers said.
The two-year bond yielded 1.080% late Wednesday, from 1.079% late Tuesday. The 10-year bond yielded 2.127%, from 2.124%. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.
