October 21, 2013 - 5:31 AM
TORONTO - The Canadian dollar was little changed Monday, two days before the Bank of Canada makes its next announcement on interest rates.
The loonie was up 0.01 of a cent to 97.15 cents US.
Many economists expect the bank will keep its key rate at one per cent until around the fourth quarter of 2014.
Traders also looked ahead to a raft of economic reports that were held up because of the partial U.S. government shutdown that dragged on this month until late last week.
The major economic report of the week is the U.S. government’s employment report. That’s due on Tuesday and could provide investors an indication as to when the Fed will start reducing its US$85 billion-worth of monthly asset purchases.
Until the U.S. debt crisis this month, most investors thought the Fed’s so-called "tapering" of its stimulus program would start by December. Many now think it won’t start until Janet Yellen takes the chair in early 2014.
The commodity sensitive loonie failed to react to oil prices at their lowest level since July. The November crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.25 to US$99.56 a barrel amid rising supplies of crude and lower demand.
December copper added a penny to US$3.30 a pound while December bullion faded 40 cents to US$1,314.20 an ounce.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013