SF: Canada's Dollar Little Changed With Growth Forecast to Slow Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/08/31/bloomberg1376-LQSJIS0YHQ0X01-4VASVLGIPG7A3ICKD2K4BIN862.DTL#ixzz1WbszakM2
Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Canada's dollar was little changed before a government report forecast by analysts to show that growth stagnated in the second quarter.
Canada's currency is poised for the biggest monthly depreciation since May on speculation the recovery in the U.S., the nation's largest trading partner, has faltered. Bank of Canada policy makers meet next week to determine interest rates.
"A lot of the weakness in the Canadian dollar is linked to what we're seeing on the U.S. data front," said Mary Nicola, a currency strategist at BNP Paribas SA, by phone from New York. "If the U.S. is going to slow down it's going to have an impact on Canada. The Canada dollar seems to be the laggard."
The Canadian currency traded at 97.80 cents per U.S. dollar at 7:57 a.m. in Toronto, compared with 97.79 cents yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0225.
Canada's gross domestic product was unchanged in the three months through June after expanding 3.9 percent in the first quarter, according to the median forecast of 23 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The report from Statistics Canada is due at 8:30 a.m. in Ottawa. The loonie has dropped 2.3 percent this month.
"The market is calling for a flat number but if we see something dipping towards the negative, that should have some negative impact on the Canadian dollar," BNP's Nicola said.