C$ gives back some recent gains ahead of inflation data

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as oil prices fell and the greenback rallied against a basket of major currencies, but the decline was limited ahead of key domestic inflation data this week.

The Canadian dollar was trading 0.3% lower at 1.3289 to the greenback, or 75.25 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.3240 to 1.3309. Last Friday, the currency touched its strongest intraday level since Sept. 20 at 1.3233.

Canada's inflation report for October, due on Wednesday, could help guide expectations for the Bank of Canada's interest rate outlook.

The data "will provide markets with an indication of just how much further the Bank of Canada may need to increase policy rates," said Michael Goshko, senior market analyst at Convera Canada ULC.

Money markets expect the central bank to hike rates by at least 25 basis points at its Dec. 7 policy announcement and for the policy rate to peak at between 4.25% and 4.50% in the coming months.

The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies on Monday as investors kept their focus on the Federal Reserve's interest rate hiking path after a policymaker said too much was being made of last week's cooler U.S. inflation data.

The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, was dragged down by a firmer U.S. dollar and as surging coronavirus cases in China dashed hopes of a swift reopening of its economy. U.S. crude prices settled 3.5% lower at $85.87 a barrel.

Canadian government bond yields rose across a more deeply inverted curve, tracking the move in U.S. Treasuries. The 2-year climbed 6.3 basis points to 3.890%, while the 10-year was up 1.7 basis points at 3.171%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Paul Simao and Andrea Ricci)