(Adds closing figures, Scotiabank comment, details)
* Canadian dollar at C$1.3035 or 76.72 U.S. cents
* Bond prices mixed across the maturity curve
By Solarina Ho
TORONTO, July 24 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar finished
little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, but not
before crashing to the lowest levels since 2004, hit by a
confluence of factors including weak commodities and a dim
global economic outlook.
The move came as the price of oil, a major Canadian export,
remained near $48 a barrel. Weaker-than-expected economic data
from China, the world's biggest metals consumer, sent currencies
linked to global commodity prices, such as the Canadian and
Australian dollars, to multi-year lows. FRX/
Momentum buying of USD/CAD and loonie selling also drove
earlier moves.
David Bradley, director of foreign exchange trading at Bank
of Nova Scotia, noted that the Canadian dollar crashed through
its 2009 low Friday morning. "That triggered some stops, some
short covering," he said, noting the quick move to C$1.31 before
settling down.
"Now that we're through some of the technical levels in
USD/CAD, it definitely opens up the topside significantly. We
could probably trade up toward C$1.34, C$1.35 by the end of the
summer, or by back to school time."
The Canadian dollar CAD=D4 finished at C$1.3035 to the
greenback, or 76.72 U.S. cents, little changed from the Bank of
Canada's official close of C$1.3039, or 76.69 U.S. cents, on
Thursday.
The loonie cracked through the March 2009 low of C$1.3066
early in the North American session, retreating as far as
C$1.3103, or 76.32 U.S. cents, a level not seen since Sept. 1,
2004.
Many strategists are eyeing around C$1.33, or 75 U.S. cents,
as the next key levels, with upwards of C$1.39 and beyond marked
as potential long-term possibilities. The Canadian dollar was at
just above C$1.40 in May 2004.
By the end of the session, the currency was stronger against
many of its peers. The divergence between U.S. and Canadian
monetary policies, with the Federal Reserve expected to hike
interest rates and the Bank of Canada having already cut rates
twice this year, is expected to keep the Canadian dollar weaker
against a stronger greenback.
A rout in commodity prices, particularly over global supply
and demand concerns is expected to add to the pressure.
Canadian government bond prices were mixed across the
maturity curve, with the two-year CA2YT=RR price down 1
Canadian cent to yield 0.430 percent and the benchmark 10-year
CA10YT=RR rising 11 Canadian cents to yield 1.489 percent.
The Canada-U.S. two-year bond spread narrowed to -25.2 basis
points, while the 10-year spread narrowed to 77.2 basis points.