Market News

By Fergal Smith

• Canadian dollar gains 0.3% against the greenback
• Touches strongest level since April 10
• Price of U.S. oil settles 0.8% higher
• Bond yields tumble across the curve

TORONTO, May 15 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened to a five-week high against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as investors welcomed U.S. inflation data that could keep the door open to Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year.

Wall Street rose and the U.S. dollar (.DXY) fell against a basket of major currencies as U.S. consumer prices increased less than expected in April. "It is giving the market confidence that the Fed could be looking at cutting rates later in the year," said Darren Richardson, chief operating officer at Richardson International Currency Exchange Inc. 

Canada is a major producer of commodities, including oil, so the currency tends to be sensitive to shifts in investor sentiment.  

The price of oil settled 0.8% higher at $78.63 a barrel, while the Canadian dollar was trading 0.3% higher at 1.36 per U.S. dollar, or 73.53 U.S. cents. The currency touched its strongest intraday level since April 10 at 1.3592. 

Favorable winds are expected to push a major wildfire away from the Canadian oil sands city of Fort McMurray, officials said, less than a day after 6,000 people were ordered to leave. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Canadian home sales declined 1.7% in April from March, and were up 10.1% on an annual basis, data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) showed. Canadian bond yields tumbled across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. 

The 10-year was down 10.3 basis points at 3.583%, approaching the bottom of the range in recent weeks.