* Canadian dollar dips 0.1% against the greenback
* Loonie touches its weakest intraday low since May 7 at
1.4124
* Canadian manufacturing sales fall 9.2% in March
* Canadian bond yields were mixed across a flatter curve
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, May 14 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened to
a one-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as
domestic data showed a bigger-than-expected drop in
manufacturing sales and ahead of a Bank of Canada assessment of
risks to the financial system.
The Bank of Canada is due to release its annual financial
system review at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT). Since March, the central
bank has slashed interest rates to near zero and introduced for
the first time a large-scale asset purchase program.
"What the BoC has highlighted as vulnerabilities for some
time — elevated household debt and high house prices in some
markets — are exactly what can make a downturn more pronounced,"
Adam Cole, chief currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in
London, said in a note.
Canadian manufacturing sales in March slumped by 9.2%, the
biggest drop in over 11 years, as the coronavirus pandemic
forced the shutdown of many businesses, Statistics Canada said.
Analysts had forecast a 5.7% decrease.
The Canadian dollar was trading 0.1% lower at
1.4105 to the greenback, or 70.90 U.S. cents. The currency
touched its weakest intraday level since May 7 at 1.4124.
The decline for the loonie came as the U.S. dollar
strengthened towards a three-week high and global stock markets
fell , with investors weighing a sobering warning from
the World Health Organization that the new coronavirus may never
go away and data showing nearly 3 million Americans filed for
state unemployment benefits last week, higher than economists'
estimates.
The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose after
a drop in U.S. crude stocks. U.S. crude oil futures were
up nearly 3% at $26.04 a barrel.
Canada's oil producers need to set clear targets to fight
climate change to continue to attract global capital, Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, as the
country's carbon-intensive oil sands industry faces heightened
environmental scrutiny from investors.
Canadian government bond yields were mixed across a flatter
curve, with the 10-year yield easing 1.4 basis points to 0.532%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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