Loonie barely changed following series of losses amid rate hike speculation

TORONTO -- The Canadian dollar closed little changed Monday after sustaining a series of jolts as the greenback strengthened on speculation about when the U.S. Federal Reserve may start to raise interest rates.

The loonie was up 0.01 of a cent to 89.66 cents US following a loss of 1.7 per cent last week. The currency has tumbled about two U.S. cents this month, pushing it to its lowest levels since the end of March.

Markets have generally looked for the Fed to raise rates around the middle of 2015.

The greenback also found support as revised official data on Friday showed the world's largest economy expanded at an annual rate of 4.6 per cent in the spring -- the fastest pace in more than two years. But traders are looking for reassurance that job growth is also showing similar strong advances.

Markets are looking Friday for the U.S. government to report that the economy created about 210,000 jobs during September. And it is possible that the disappointing August report will also be revised upward.

Canadian job figures for September come out Oct. 10.

Traders also focused on the latest reading on the health of the Canadian economy. Statistics Canada is expected to report Tuesday that gross domestic product rose 0.3 per cent during July.

A major deal in the energy sector could also prove to be a weight on the Canadian currency in the coming weeks.

Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA) is buying Athlon Energy in a US$7.1-billion deal that will give the Canadian gas producer access to a major Texas oil play and speed up its shift towards more liquids production. The deal includes assumed debt but most of the value is from US$5.93 billion in cash that Encana will pay to acquire Athlon's shares.

Camilla Sutton, Chief FX Strategist, Managing Director Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, said the deal "could imply a large Canadian dollar negative flow leading into mid-December when the deal is expected to close."

The commodity-sensitive Canadian currency has also been pressured by commodity prices that have weakened because of the rising U.S. dollar.

A stronger greenback makes it more expensive for holders of other currencies to buy oil and metals which are U.S.-dollar-denominated.

Commodity prices advanced Monday as the November crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.03 to US$94.57 a barrel, December bullion climbed $3.40 to US$1,218.80 an ounce and December copper was up two cents to US$3.06 pound.