BLBG: Canada’s Dollar Declines Before Central Bank Rate Meeting
Canada’s dollar fell for a second day against its U.S. counterpart before the Bank of Canada meets to decide monetary policy.
Traders are waiting to see what the statement from the Bank of Canada contains, said Michael Leavitt , a Montreal-based institutional-derivatives broker at MF Global Canada Co. “Historically the bank has not been able to curb Canadian dollar movement to any great degree versus market forces.”
The Canadian currency weakened 0.4 percent to C$1.1151 per U.S. dollar at 8:03 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.1104 yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys 89.68 U.S. cents. Canada’s dollar touched C$1.0785 on June 1, the highest level in eight months.
Leavitt expects the currency to reach C$1.13 before it heads back to C$1.08.
The central bank meets today in Ottawa. At its last meeting, on April 21, it cut the key interest rate in half to 0.25 percent, a record low. It is expected to leave the rate unchanged, according to a Bloomberg News survey of 22 economists.
The bank will publish its decision at 9 a.m. on its Web site.