Bank of Canada keeps rates steady; loonie falls (UST10Y, UST2YR, $TNX, $TYX, TIP, TBT, TLT, GLD, $DXY, UUP, UDN, FXE, FXY, C_JPY, C_CAD, CUR_EURUSD) (by Deborah Levine)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Canadian dollar turned lower on Tuesday after the Bank of Canada noted a strong currency and weak productivity, instead of the more positive comments from policy makers that analysts were looking for. The central bank kept its target for the overnight rate at 1%, as widely expected. "The cumulative effects of the persistent strength in the Canadian dollar and Canada's poor relative productivity performance are restraining this recovery in net exports and contributing to a widening of Canada's current account deficit to a 20-year high," Bank of Canada officials said in a statement. The U.S. dollar (C_CAD) turned up by 0.2% to buy 99.05 Canadian cents, after falling as low as 98.35 cents earlier.