Loonie retreats against greenback despite better than forecast PMI figures

The Canadian dollar retreated against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday’s trading despite a report showing that Canada’s Ivey PMI narrowed contraction in February.

PMI data showed some improvement as it rose to 49.7 in February from 45.4 in January, beating analysts’ forecasts of 49.4. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction, while a reading above 50 means expansion.

The pair rose for a second straight session yesterday after the Bank of Canada decided to hold its interest rate.

The Canadian economy grew an annualized 2.4 percent in the three months through December last year,

data released this week showed.  

Meanwhile, the USDCAD is trading around 1.2487 after touching a high and low of 1.2541 and 1.2431 respectively.

The pair tracked the losses in oil prices, where Brent crude for April delivery fell to a low of $50.61 to halt its four-day rally.

Crude prices plummeted on fears a nuclear deal with Iran could remove Western sanctions and thereby cause an oversupply in output.

The awaited NFP report due on Friday, which may signal U.S. employers added 240,000 jobs in February, is likely to shape the movement of the pair.