Canadian dollar firms as BOC leaves benchmark interest rate unchanged

The Canadian dollar strengthened while Canadian bond yields ticked lower on Wednesday after The Bank of Canada left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5%. In a brief policy statement, the central bank said the Canadian economy is growing in line with expectations, though exports -- highlighted by the central bank as a key driver of growth -- have continued to disappoint. The central bank said that growth was robust in the third quarter, following a weak first half, though it expects the pace of growth to moderate in 2017. One U.S. dollar bought C$1.3268 in recent trade, down 0.1% from C$1.3284 late Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Canadian government bond fell 3.5 basis points to 1.596%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.