TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little changed against the greenback on Tuesday, holding near a four-week high it posted the previous day as investors welcomed signs of easing lockdowns in some countries even as the IMF slashed its global growth outlook.
World stocks <.WORLD> gained after Chinese trade data came in better than expected and as some countries tried to restart their economies by partly lifting restrictions aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic.
Canada is a major exporter of commodities, including oil, so its economy could be hurt particularly hard by global economic contraction.
The International Monetary Fund projected that global output would fall by 3% in 2020, with Canada's economy expected to shrink by 6.2%.
At 9:21 a.m. (1321 GMT), the Canadian dollar
The steady profile for the loonie came ahead of a Bank of Canada interest rate decision on Wednesday. Last month, the central bank slashed its benchmark rate by a total of 150 basis points, in a series of emergency moves, to a level of 0.25%, and it began a quantitative easing program, buying government bonds on a large scale.
U.S. crude oil futures (CLc1) dropped 4.3% to $21.44 a barrel, with investors apparently unconvinced that record supply cuts could soon balance markets pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic.
Canadian government bond yields fell across a flatter curve, with the 10-year (CA10YT=RR) down 4.5 basis points at 0.714%.