* C$ ends slightly firmer at C$0.9993 vs US$, or $1.0007
* Earlier, C$ hit weakest level since Aug. 6
* Approach of month-end could further weaken C$
By Claire Sibonney
TORONTO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar ended
slightly firmer near parity with its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday
after the biggest storm to hit the United States in generations
shut down Wall Street for a second day and left other markets
struggling to set direction.
Millions of people were left reeling in the aftermath of
monster storm Sandy with New York and a wide swath of the
eastern United States trying to deal with flooding and power
outages. The death toll climbed to at least 30.
As investors sought to grasp the full impact of the storm,
world trading of shares and commodities was subdued, providing
little guidance for the Canadian dollar.
"It's just incredibly quiet with a lot of the market out,
equities and bonds in the U.S. closed, it's like a national
holiday type of liquidity in the market," said Matt Perrier,
director of foreign exchange sales at BMO Capital Markets.
"There's not a whole lot going through here. We've been
stuck in a very tight range with little flows of note."
The currency has traded in a band of less than half
a cent since Monday, and Perrier said the current range of
between C$0.9975-C$1.0025 should hold heading into the overnight
session.
At one point it hit C$1.0020 to the greenback, its weakest
level since Aug. 6, but then recovered back to the other side of
parity by the end of the North American session close.
The Canadian dollar ended the day at C$0.9993 to the
greenback, or $1.0007, compared with C$1.0008, or $0.9992, at
Monday's North American close.
Investors expect heightened volatility when U.S. markets
reopen on Wednesday with the two-day closure creating pent-up
demand.
Some traders said they expect corporate and sovereign buying
of the greenback ahead of the month-end, with investors
unwinding long Canadian dollar positions.
Canadian bond markets remained open though volumes were hit
by the closure of the U.S. market. Prices drifted slightly
lower, with the two-year bond off 3 Canadian cents to
yield 1.101 percent, while the benchmark 10-year bond
lost 15 Canadian cents to yield 1.813 percent.