TORONTO, Oct 10 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar fell for a seventh-straight day against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as investors weighed prospects of the Federal Reserve pausing its rate cuts and awaited domestic jobs data that could guide bets on the Bank of Canada outlook.
The loonie was trading 0.3% lower at 1.3750 to the U.S. dollar, or 72.73 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest level since Aug. 7 at 1.3775.
“This Canadian-dollar selloff is getting nuts, all on the heels of growing speculation that the Fed won’t cut rates at all in November,” said Erik Bregar, director, FX & precious metals risk management at Silver Gold Bull.
Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said the “choppiness” in recent data on employment and inflation may warrant leaving rates on hold next month.
U.S. consumer prices rose slightly more than expected in September amid higher food costs. Still, the annual increase of 2.4% was the smallest in more than 3-1/2 years.
“This reaction (in markets) is way overdone … I think the Canadian dollar is a steal here and should be bought,” Bregar said.
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Canada’s monthly employment report, due on Friday, is expected to show the economy adding 27,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate rising to 6.7%.
Investors expect the Bank of Canada to ease interest rates for a fourth-straight meeting on Oct. 23, with the market pricing in a roughly one-third chance the bank steps up the pace of easing to 50 basis points from 25 basis points.
The price of oil , one of Canada’s major exports, jumped 3.8% to $76.01 a barrel, supported by a spike in U.S. fuel use before Hurricane Milton barreled across Florida.
U.S. inflation progress stalls, rising more than expected.
Canadian bond yields eased across the curve, with the 2-year down 7.3 basis points at 3.203%.
Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Rod Nickel
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