Investing.com - The Canadian dollar was steady near six-week lows against broadly stronger U.S. dollar on Wednesday after the Bank of Canada left monetary policy on hold following its latest rate review.
USD/CAD was at 1.2450, almost unchanged from before the announcement.
The BoC kept its benchmark interest rate on hold at 0.75% and said that the assessment of risks to the inflation profile had not materially changed since last month.
Recent indicators suggest consumption in Canada is holding up relatively well, given the impact of lower oil prices on gross domestic income, the bank said in a statement.
The central bank surprised markets with an unexpected rate cut in January, which Governor Stephen Poloz described as “insurance” against the effects of lower oil prices.
Earlier this month Governor Poloz said the Canadian economy was rebuilding though headwinds, notably in the energy sector, still remained.
Demand for the greenback continued to be underpinned after data on Tuesday showed that U.S. business investment plans increased, consumer confidence improved and house prices extended gains.
The upbeat data supported the view that the Federal Reserve could start to raise interest rates later in the year if the economy continues to improve as expected.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was near six-week highs at 97.51.