TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as the price of oil fell and the greenback climbed against a basket of major currencies, with the loonie giving up some of the previous week's sharp gains.
At 8:25 a.m. (1225 GMT), the Canadian dollar
Last week, the loonie rallied 3.1%, its biggest weekly gain since October 2009.
U.S. crude oil futures (CLc1) on Monday were down 6% at $20.21 a barrel, while the U.S. dollar (DXY) snapped a week of declines as investors braced for prolonged uncertainty and governments tightened lockdowns to fight the coronavirus.
Canada will not allow anyone displaying symptoms of the COVID-19 respiratory illness to board domestic flights or inter-city passenger trains, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday, the latest travel restriction aimed at curbing the coronavirus outbreak.
On Friday, Canada said it will cover 75% of wages for small businesses and the Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate to 0.25%, the lowest level in a decade, as officials sought to limit layoffs and bolster an economy hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The central bank also launched its first-ever quantitative easing program, saying it would buy government and commercial debt.
Canadian bond yields fell across the curve, with the 10-year (CA10YT=RR) down 7.4 basis points at 0.662%.
Canada's GDP report for January is due on Tuesday.