The Canadian dollar took a sharp turn lower against its U.S. counterpart after the Bank of Canada unexpectedly announced that it’s keeping its key interest rate unchanged at 0.25%.
The loonie sank about half a cent to 79.13 cents U.S. from its intraday high of 79.62 cents U.S. after the central bank released its decision.
It was an unusual day for North American currencies as the Bank of Canada and U.S. Federal Reserve each made monetary policy announcements.
Both central banks are now expected to kickoff their interest rate hikes in March, according to data from Bloomberg Markets.
Economists expect the Bank of Canada to raise interest rate six times throughout this year.
