Canadian dollar pares gains amid tariff and election uncertainty
TORONTO, March 25 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday but gains were kept in check by uncertainty around both a tightly contested Canadian general election and expected new U.S. trade tariffs on April 2.
The loonie was trading 0.1% higher at 1.4305 per U.S. dollar, or 69.91 U.S. cents, after earlier touching its strongest intraday level since March 18 at 1.4272.
"I'd say the market is thinking about two things. One, is the tariff announcement and two, is the Canadian election," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex LLC.
It appears that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is "shifting to a more pro-business stance and the market seems to like that and will be watching the polls closely," Chandler said.
The ruling Liberal Party and the official opposition Conservatives were effectively tied in polls conducted just before the campaign started on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday automobile tariffs are coming soon even as he indicated that not all of his threatened levies would be imposed on April 2 and some countries may get breaks, a move Wall Street took as a sign of flexibility on a matter that has roiled markets for weeks.
Canada is a major exporter of autos and other goods, such as oil, to the United States.
The price of oil fell 0.6% to $68.72 a barrel, pulling back from an earlier three-week high.
Canadian bond yields eased across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries after weaker-than-expected American consumer confidence data.
The 10-year was down 1.2 basis points at 3.052%.
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