Canadian dollar notches biggest monthly advance this year

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Canadian dollar falls 0.1% against the greenback
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For the month, the loonie was up 2.3%
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Canadian second-quarter GDP rises 2.1%
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Ten-year yield climbs to three-week high at 3.160%
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Aug 30 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar held on to much of its monthly gain against its U.S. counterpart on Friday as investors bet the global economy would avoid recession and Canadian GDP data did little to alter expectations for Bank of Canada interest rate cuts.
The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.35 to the U.S. dollar, or 74.07 U.S. cents, as the U.S. dollar clawed back some recent declines against a basket of major currencies.
Still, the Canadian currency was up 2.3% for the month, its biggest monthly gain since December.
The move in August was driven by broad-based weakness in the U.S. dollar, said Erik Nelson, a macro strategist at Wells Fargo Securities in London.
“It tracks with widespread pricing of a global ‘soft landing’ with inflation receding, growth expectations and risk assets still elevated and central banks firmly on the path to lower rates,” Nelson said.
Canada’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.1% in the second quarter, beating estimates for a gain of 1.6%. Still, the mix of growth, which was led by government expenditures, failed to impress some economists, while monthly data showed activity stalling in June and likely again in July.
The BoC will cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points for a third straight meeting on Sept. 4 and again in October and December, faster reductions in borrowing costs than previously thought, according to a majority of economists canvassed in a Reuters poll.
The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, fell 2.8% to $73.76 a barrel on Friday, pressured by concerns of more supply entering the market from the OPEC producers.
Canadian government bond yields moved higher across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year was up 2.6 basis points at 3.160%, its highest level since Aug. 8. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Paul Simao)