The Canadian dollar CADUSD strengthened by the most in five months against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as investors cheered a drop in long-term borrowing costs one day after the Federal Reserve’s latest move to leave interest rates on hold.
The loonie was trading 0.8% higher at 1.3750 to the greenback, or 72.73 U.S. cents, its biggest advance since June 1. The currency was recovering some ground after it hit on Wednesday a one-year low at 1.3899.
“We continue to see buying of equities in the aftermath of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) rate decision yesterday and the accompanying sharp move lower in U.S. yields,” said George Davis, chief technical strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
“The improvement in risk sentiment has weighed on the greenback and allowed CAD to appreciate after reaching its lowest level since last October yesterday.”
The U.S. dollar fell across the board as investors’ appetite for riskier currencies grew as they bet the Fed is done raising interest rates after holding them steady for a second straight meeting in the previous session.
Adding to support for the loonie, the price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, settled 2.5% higher at $82.46 a barrel.
Canada’s employment report for October, due on Friday, could offer clues about the strength of the domestic economy. Economists forecast a gain of 22,500.
Canadian government bond yields were mixed across a flatter curve. The 2-year rose 1.9 basis points to 4.547%, while the 10-year was down 6.3 basis points at 3.856%.
Ontario, one of the world’s biggest sub-sovereign borrowers, projected a wider budget deficit for the current fiscal year than previously expected and said it would launch an infrastructure bank to fund projects in the province, a fiscal update showed.