Loonie heads toward second-straight weekly gains against U.S. dollar

The Canadian dollar minimally changed against its southerly rival on Friday as investors and traders withheld larger transactions while Greece prepared for its second national election in six weeks, according to Reuters.

Major central banks throughout the world were prepared to act in order to stabilize global markets should Greece's presidential election prompt turmoil, Group of 20 officials told Reuters. Riskier assets, such as the Canadian dollar, had been performing strongly prior to Friday's trading session, the final one before voters cast ballots in the Aegean nation on Sunday.

"Obviously you're going to see some position squaring beforehand," senior vice president John Curran with CanadianForex told Reuters, reflecting a general feeling of caution and care among traders, investors and other market participants.

Bond prices in Canada tracked the upward drive of U.S. Treasuries as two-year bonds increased 9 Canadian cents on Friday, pushing to yields of 1 percent. Ten-year bonds rose 37 Canadian cents, delivering a yield of 1.762 percent.

The past five days have seen the loonie gain 0.4 percent against the U.S. dollar, according to Bloomberg. The monetary unit is barreling toward a second consecutive week of gains.