NS: Canadian dollar flat amid strong demand for Spanish debt, rising oil prices
TORONTO - The Canadian dollar was little changed Thursday amid mixed commodity prices and relief on financial markets over the success of a key Spanish bond auction.
The loonie dipped 0.01 of a cent to 100.87 cents US.
The yield on the 10-year bonds auctioned at Thursdays auction was 5.7 per cent, up from 5.3 per cent at the last auction on April 4. But traders were encouraged by the fact that demand was more than double the amount sold, which suggests Spain will continue to be able to easily tap financial markets to fund itself. That is crucial for the rest of Europe, as Spain would likely be too big to bail out.
Worries about Spain have in recent weeks seen a flare-up in Europes debt crisis. But analysts suggest those concerns about the heavily indebted country will continue to weight on market sentiment.
Oil prices advanced after falling sharply Wednesday in the wake of data showing a much bigger than expected rise in U.S. crude inventories last week, suggesting flagging demand. The May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange added five cents to US$102.72 a barrel.
Copper prices headed lower for a second day, down a penny to US$3.62 a pound.
A slowing Chinese economy has helped push the price of the metal down almost eight per cent this month. China is the world's biggest consumer of the metal, viewed as an economic bellwether as it is used in a wide variety of industries.
Bullion prices dipped $4.60 to US$1,635 an ounce.