Canada

Bank of Montreal (BMO) has opened books for its third covered bond benchmark of the year but its first in dollars in four years. The deal follows a string of successful transactions in the US currency issued by BMO’s Canadian peers at progressively tighter spreads and in larger sizes.

A trio of issuers have lined up short end dollar deals for pricing on Wednesday. Some bankers said the focus on threes and fives was in response to poor US jobs data last week, although that view was not universal.

The Province of Manitoba on Tuesday sold its largest ever deal in euros, tapping its June 2040 line for €212m. The deal has, according to a funding official at the issuer, paved the way for a debut public transaction in the currency.

Province of British Columbia

A pair of issuers reopened the 10 year part of the dollar curve for sovereigns, supranationals and agencies this week, but despite both trades gaining plaudits there is still scepticism over whether a $2bn-plus sized deal is possible.

Brent and WTI oil futures have risen to above $50 for the first time since November and July respectively, amid bullish short term positioning by aggressive managers and supportive supply data this week. But while traders called this a ‘psychological’ level for the commodity, physical markets are still sounding a note of caution.

Rentenbank joined the rush for dollars on Wednesday as Inter-American Development Bank and British Columbia set pricing on deals announced the previous day.

KommuneKredit grabbed the first chance of the week to print five year dollars while other public sector issuers are set on 10 year deals.

There was a steady stream of sterling deals in the supranational and agency market this week, amid confidence that volumes will keep up until the UK’s referendum on European Union membership is imminent.

Long dated dollar issuance could be set for a return in the coming weeks, after minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s rate meeting in April — released on Wednesday night — showed a more hawkish sentiment than the market was expecting.

Export Development Canada is set to join what one SSA banker described as a “ridiculous” dollar market, where issuers are selling in big size and with little or no new issue premiums.

Export Development Canada sold its largest bond in sterling in over two years on Wednesday as investor appetite for the currency showed little sign of abating.