The Canadian dollar strengthened on Thursday against its US counterpart, boosted by higher oil prices and stronger-than-expected domestic retail sales data, while the country's largest alternative lender got a loan from Berkshire Hathaway Inc Canadian retail sales rose 0.8 percent in April from March to C$48.64 billion. Analysts had forecast an increase of 0.2 percent.
"The solid run of Canadian data continues," Benjamin Reitzes, Canadian rates and macro strategist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a research note. "There's nothing here to alter the Bank of Canada's now more hawkish path." The Bank of Canada's top two officials said last week that looser monetary policies put in place in 2015 had largely done their work, and the bank would assess whether interest rates must remain at near-record lows.
Chances of a rate hike as early as next month rose to 38 percent from less than one-in-four before the retail sales report, data from the overnight index swaps market showed.