C$ hits 2-month high on easing U.S. inflation pressures

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar on Wednesday notched its biggest gain in nearly three months against a broadly weaker U.S. counterpart, as investors reacted to data showing an easing of U.S. inflation pressures.

The loonie was trading 0.9% higher at 1.2775 to the greenback, or 78.28 U.S. cents, its biggest advance since May 13. It touched its strongest intraday level since June 10 at 1.2752.

"Markets are all moving on the same theme today, and that's U.S. CPI coming in below expectations," said Jay Zhao-Murray, market analyst at Monex Canada Inc. "The (U.S.) dollar sold off as traders piled back into riskier currencies."

The U.S. dollar tumbled against a basket of major currencies and Wall Street rallied as U.S. consumer prices rose at a slower than expected annual pace in July, leading to reduced bets of a super-sized interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next month.

Investors have worried that a rapid pace of central bank tightening could derail global economic activity. Canada is a major exporter of commodities, including oil, so the loonie tends to be sensitive to the outlook for growth.

U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.6% higher at $91.93 a barrel, bolstered by the move into riskier assets and encouraging figures on U.S. gasoline demand.

Canadian government bond yields eased across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasury yields.

The 2-year was down 7.5 basis points at 3.197%, while the 10-year fell 2.3 basis points to 2.679%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and John Stonestreet)