Canadian dollar retreats after big one-day gain

The Canadian dollar slipped slightly Wednesday after a big one-day gain on Tuesday that followed the Bank of Canada's announcementa day earlierit was ending its commitment to keep interest rates from rising.

It ended down.04 cents to 100.08 cents US Wednesday, a day after closing up 1.58 cents its biggest one-day gain in nine months.

The Bank of Canada also increased its forecast for the country's economic growth this year to 3.7 per cent.

Economists will be watching closely when the central bank releases its monetary policy report at 10:30 a.m. ET Thursday for more signs of when the bank plans to increase rates.

"Before yesterday, the market was pricing in [a] roughly 30 per cent probability that the bank would move on June 1; after yesterday's statement most analysts are convinced that the bank won't wait until July," Vancouver-based Citizens Bank said in a commentary.

However, Citizens Bank said, whether the central bank increases rates by June 1 still depends on "continued improvement in employment, steady monthly gross domestic product and quarterly GDP numbers and perhaps most importantly core inflation that strays too near the Bank of Canada target of 2.0 per cent."

Core inflation measures price increases after excluding the more volatile energy and food sectors.