Canadian dollar steadies as tariff threat details stay lacking #CanadaFinance

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar steadied against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments at the World Economic Forum and preliminary domestic data showed retail sales jumping in December.

The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.4375 per U.S. dollar, or 69.57 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.4335 to 1.4413.

“I think Trump’s comments at the World Economic Forum today helped euro-dollar recover and put some pressure on the (U.S.) dollar more broadly,” said Silver Gold Bull Erik Bregar, director, FX & precious metals risk management at Silver Gold Bull.

Trump said the United States would guarantee supplies of liquefied natural gas to Europe, even amid worries that the booming export industry could boost prices of gas for U.S. consumers.

The U.S. dollar was modestly lower against a basket of major currencies as Trump also called for lower interest rates while providing no clarity on proposed trade tariffs, including a potential 25% tax on imports from Canada.

“Absent any further detail, the market is starting to take these tariff threats less seriously,” Bregar said.

Canadian retail sales were flat in November. That missed forecasts for a gain of 0.2% but a flash estimate showed sales surging 1.6% in December when a sales tax holiday began.

The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, settled 1.1% lower at $74.62 a barrel.

Canadian bond yields were mixed across a steeper curve, with the 10-year up 1.6 basis points at 3.322%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Sandra Maler)