US markets were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. "Generally the market is starting the week on a positive footing so equities are stronger and oil is stronger. There's a US holiday so flows are fairly light so far," said Camilla Sutton, currency strategist at Scotia Capital. The price of oil climbed above $78 a barrel after falling for five days, while bullion prices were also firmer.
The Canadian dollar was at C$1.0258 to the US dollar, or 97.48 US cents, up from Friday's finish at C$1.0294 to the US dollar, or 97.14 US cents. Sutton also said the Canadian currency was supported by domestic data that showed foreigners invested heavily in Canadian bonds in November as credit markets recovered and the Canadian dollar rose, pushing total purchases of Canadian securities to C$10.54 billion in the month. Still, Canadian bond prices were virtually unchanged across the curve as the market could not look to US markets for any significant guidance, said Sutton.