Loonie Falls As BoC Leaves Rate Unchanged; Sounds Cautious On Future Hikes

The Canadian dollar declined against its major counterparts in the New York session on Wednesday, after the Bank of Canada kept its benchmark rate unchanged, while saying that it remained "cautious with respect to future policy adjustments."

The BoC kept its key rate unchanged at 1.25 percent, in line with expectations.

The bank noted that there have been progress on the key issues being watched closely by the Governing Council, particularly the dynamics of inflation and wage growth.

"This progress reinforces Governing Council's view that higher interest rates will be warranted over time, although some monetary policy accommodation will still be needed to keep inflation on target."

The bank said it would remain cautious with respect to future policy adjustments, guided by incoming data.

The loonie rose against its major counterparts in the European session, with the exception of the aussie.

The loonie dropped to an 8-day low of 0.9817 against the aussie, from a high of 0.9742 hit at 5:00 pm ET. The next possible support for the loonie is seen around the 0.99 level.

Reversing from an early high of 1.2546 against the greenback, the loonie weakened to an 8-day low of 1.2636. The loonie is seen finding support around the 1.28 level.

The loonie slipped to a 6-day low of 84.78 against the Japanese yen, off its early 5-day high of 85.44. The loonie is poised to find support around the 83.00 region.

Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that Japan recorded a merchandise trade surplus of 797.3 billion yen in March.

That exceeded expectations for 499.2 billion yen and was up sharply from 3.4 billion yen in February.

The loonie reversed from an early high of 1.5517 against the euro, falling to an 8-day low of 1.5647. If the loonie slides further, 1.58 is likely seen as its next support level.

Final data from Eurostat showed that Eurozone inflation accelerated in March albeit at a slower than initially estimated pace.

Inflation rose to 1.3 percent in March from 1.1 percent in February. The rate was revised down from 1.4 percent estimated on April 4.

Looking ahead, the Fed Beige book report is due at 2:00 pm ET.

At 3:15 pm ET, New York Fed President William Dudley speaks about the economic outlook and monetary policy at the City University of New York's Lehman College.

At 4:15 pm ET, Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles speaks at the Bretton Woods Committee Annual Meeting, in Washington DC.