Canadian Dollar Holds Near Monthly Lows
2026-02-20 16:56
By
Felipe Alarcon
1 min. read
The Canadian dollar weakened near 1.37 per US dollar on Friday, near monthly lows as surging US yields and a retreat in oil prices outweighed the relief rally from the US Supreme Court striking down global tariffs.
While the court’s decision to invalidate emergency trade duties provided a boost to sentiment the loonie remained pressured by a widening yield gap after US core PCE inflation hit 3% to reinforce a hawkish Fed stance.
Domestically the Bank of Canada remains on pause at 2.25% as January CPI of 2.6% and soft US GDP of 1.4% complicated the outlook for synchronized easing.
Additionally crude oil prices pared weekly gains despite a 9 million barrel drop in US inventories to weaken the commodity backing that typically supports the currency.
With the BoC signaling that current rates are appropriate and US-Iran tensions keeping the greenback firm on safe haven flows the loonie faces resistance as it balances trade policy relief against diverging monetary paths.