C$ hits 2-week low as CPI data bolsters rate cut bets
Loonie touches a 2-week low at 1.3707
Canada's annual inflation rate cools to 2.7%
Price of U.S. oil falls 1.6%
10-year yield eases 4.6 basis points to 3.372%
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, July 16 (Reuters) -The Canadian dollar steadied near an earlier two-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as cooler-than-expected domestic inflation data fueled bets for another Bank of Canada interest rate cut this month.
The loonie CAD= was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3685 to the U.S. dollar, or 73.07 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since July 2 at 1.3707.
Canada's annual inflation rate cooled to 2.7% in June, largely due to softer growth in gas prices, while core inflation measures were marginally down. Analysts had forecast the inflation rate would ease to 2.8% from 2.9% in May.
"June's CPI print was a small relief after an upside surprise in May," Claire Fan, an economist at Royal Bank of Canada, said in a note.
"All told, we expect the BoC will carry on with easing the monetary brakes on a weak economy, and follow up with another rate cut at its July meeting next week."
Investors see a roughly 90% chance the BoC will cut rates on July 24, up from 82% before the data. Last month, the BoC became the first G7 central bank to begin easing policy, lowering its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%. 0#BOCWATCH
Separate data showed Canadian housing starts falling 9% in June as groundbreaking decreased on multiple unit urban homes.
The U.S. dollar .DXY rose against a basket of major currencies as U.S. data showed strength in the underlying trend for retail sales, while the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, fell on worries of a slowing Chinese economy.
U.S. crude oil futures CLc1 were down 1.6% at $80.59 a barrel.
The Canadian 10-year yield CA10YT=RR was down 4.6 basis points at 3.372%, while it moved 2.3 basis points further below its U.S. equivalent to a gap of 83.4 basis points.
Reporting by Fergal Smith
Editing by Christina Fincher
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