Loonie extends losses; Bank of Canada stands pat ( USDCAD GSPTSE ) (by Myra P. Saefong)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Canadian dollar extended losses against the U.S. dollar Wednesday after the Bank of Canada kept its overnight rate target at 1%. "Some modest withdrawal of the present considerable monetary policy stimulus may become appropriate, consistent with achieving the 2% inflation target over the medium term," the central bank said in a statement. It also said it expects economic growth to pick up through 2013. Canada's loonie was down against its U.S. counterpart, with one U.S. dollar (usdcad) buying 98.98 Canadian cents, up from 98.64 Canadian cents on Tuesday. In Toronto, equities edged higher, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index (ca:$isptx) up 0.1% at 11,958, led by a 0.4% rise in consumer discretionary stocks.