The Canadian dollar finished a touch higher against the U S. dollar in a lackluster session on Monday as a rise in oil prices was not enough to spark a move ahead of key domestic data due later in the week. Domestic bond prices ended lower as dealers pocketed gains following a rally on Friday when economic data from the United States suggested more rate cuts there.
The Canadian dollar closed at US $1.0067, valuing a US dollar at 99.33 Canadian cents, up slightly from US $1.0060 to the US dollar, or 99.40 Canadian cents, at Friday's close. In a session that lacked any real direction, the Canadian dollar was knocked around in a range of US $1.0077 to C$1.0007 to the US dollar.
"It's been a pretty quiet day," said George Davis, chief technical strategist at RBC Capital Markets. "There wasn't much economic data in the market and the other currencies were not really moving around all that much either."
With a lack of data to support a move in either direction, the domestic currency drew support from a favourable Canada-US interest rate gap established January 22 when the US Federal Reserve delivered a surprise rate cut.