BLBG: Canada’s Dollar Weakens as Crude Oil, Stock Futures Decline
Canada’s currency weakened as U.S. stock futures dropped and commodities declined, signaling diminishing investor appetite for risk.
The U.S. dollar rose against 14 of the 16 most actively traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 1.2 percent, following a 2.4 percent advance yesterday, and crude oil futures for delivery in May dropped 2.4 percent. Oil accounts for about a tenth of Canada’s export revenue.
“Risk aversion has returned to the market,” said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist in Toronto at BMO Capital Markets, a unit of Canada’s fourth-largest bank. “Stock index futures are giving back some of their big gains. Oil is also falling. Investors are piling back into the U.S. dollar and some U.S. Treasuries because they see those as being less risky in turbulent times.”
Canada’s currency, known as the loonie, fell 0.5 percent to C$1.2364 per U.S. dollar at 8:34 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.2305 yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys 80.88 cents.