The Loonie was rollin’ on the pip river as USDCAD traded lower after opening at 1.0178 yesterday. The pair was droppin’ like it’s hot down the charts but it fell short of the 1.0100 handle, only peaking at 1.0108. Then, risk aversion kicked in and forced the Loonie to give up some of its initial gains and ended the day with only a 7-pip win.
Save for yesterday’s building permits report, our economic calendar has been blank for the Loonie since last week! Good thing Statistics Canada announced a hiney-kickin’ figure of 6.5% for June which beat the market’s 1.8% forecast. It would have been a total bummer if the numbers came out negative!
Duhn, duhn, duhn duhn! I have a feeling today’s gonna be different for the Loonie with a couple of high-caliber reports on tap. At 11:00 am GMT, we’ll see how healthy Canada’s labor market is with the employment change and unemployment rate figures for July. Analysts are expecting to hear that 12,500 Canadians were hired during the month, down from June’s 93,200. Aaack. That’s a big decline! This is probably why the unemployment rate is seen to have been unchanged at 7.9%.
We also have the Ivey PMI at 2:00 pm GMT. The index which measures consumer confidence is expected to have declined to 55.50 in July from June’s 58.90 reading.
Talk about low expectations! But don’t fret! If the figures come out better than expected, we may just the Loonie whip the dollar’s currency-butt again!
Boo hoo! The Loonie didn’t get any lovin’ from investors last Friday as it was the only major currency that lost against the dollar. After opening at 1.0168, USDCAD dipped to its intraday low at 1.0147. That was the highlight of the Loonie’s day as the bulls then hustled to the pair to reach the week’s high at 1.0307.
I have a pretty good feeling that the Loonie’s 124-pip loss was courtesy of the disappointing economic reports from Canada. Let me give you the lowdown how it got its currency-heart broken.
According to Statistics Canada, 9,300 Canadians lost their jobs in July when the market was anticipating the labor force to have increased by 13,700. Aaack! The increase in the unemployment rate then didn’t come off as a surprise as it inched to 8.0% during the month, beating the consensus and the previous reading which were both at 7.9%.
To make matters worse, the Ivey PMI reported that purchasing managers weren’t as optimistic in July as they were in June with the index printing at 54.0 lower than the 55.9 consensus.
Tsk, tsk. We don’t have anything for the Loonie today so I guess we’ll just have to tune in to reports from its counterparts and the market’s risk sentiment to see if the currency will get some pip-lovin’. Tomorrow we have the housing starts report to look forward to which expected to print an increase of 184,000.
“All for one and one for all!” With no data from Canada yesterday, the Loonie joined the three comdoll Pipsketeers, which all suffered a minor loss against the dollar. USDCAD ended the day at 1.0268 after reaching an intraday high of 1.0300.
The weaker-than-expected job advertisements and home loans data from Australia might have affected the comdolls’ price action, but it also didn’t help that Canada’s disappointing employment figures were fresh on the traders’ minds.
The Loonie might have a stab at gaining some pips when Canada’s housing figures are released today. Housing starts, a leading indicator in housing markets, are on tap at 12:15 pm GMT. A figure higher than June’s 193,000 might signal healthy housing demand despite poor employment figures.
The new house price index (NHPI) will also be out today at 12:30 pm GMT. While the prices are expected to remain at 0.3% growth, a higher figure could signal improved demand.
The Loonie sobbed early on yesterday’s trading as risk aversion spooked investors away from it, allowing USDCAD to peak at 1.0389. Boo hoo! Fortunately, the negative risk sentiment didn’t linger long, and USDCAD ended the day lower at 1.0319. However, the Loonie still got its heart broken with a 51-pip loss against the dollar.
Wait a sec, I have a feeling that it wasn’t just risk aversion that gave the Loonie a bad day. Mixed reports on Canada’s housing industry may have also played a hand in the Loonie’s fate in the charts.
Statistics Canada reported that 189,200 houses began construction in June which overshot the market’s expectations that was at 185,000. Woot woot! However, the house price index which is an indicator of [inflation](http://www.babypips.com/forexpedia/Inflation), fell short of the 0.2% forecast when the actual figure came in at 0.1%. Sigh.
Now that it seems like the market’s sentiment is back to old school fundamentals, I think it would be wise for us to tune in to Canada’s [trade balance](http://www.babypips.com/forexpedia/Trade_Balance) report later at 12:30 pm GMT. It is expected that imports exceeded exports by 3 million CAD. Uh oh.. could this mean that the Loonie will be all boo hoo again today?
With risk aversion back in the markets, there was no other way for the high-yielding Loonie but down, down, down! USDCAD opened at 1.0323 and skyrocketed to its intraday high of 1.0475. It closed the day a tad bit lower at 1.0461 with the Loonie sustaining a 138-pip loss. Ouch! Now if that’s not a punch in the gut, I don’t know what is!
The Loonie bulls had been hopeful that Canada’s trade balance report would give them a breather from the bears’ attacks. So imagine how bad they must’ve felt when the figures surprised to the downside. Aaack!
June’s figures showed that exports outpaced imports by 1.1 billion CAD which is bigger than the 7 million CAD-deficit it posted in May! My sources tell me that the gap between exports and imports in June is the biggest since August 2009! Tsk, tsk. The market expected a more modest deficit at 3 million CAD.
It’s worth noting that the BoC hiked the country’s interest rates for two consecutive months. Uh oh. Could this mean that the worst is yet to come for Canadian exporters when the Loonie gains strength? Hmm, I think we’ll have to wait for July’s trade figures to answer that.
We don’t have anything on tap for the Loonie today, so make sure you get a feel of the market’s risk sentiment before you make your trades!
Don’t be lonely, Loonie! You’re not alone in your battle against the dollar! Worse-than-expected economic reports from Australia and the euro zone failed to ease risk aversion yesterday, and extended the loss of the Loonie against the low-yielding dollar. The Canadian dollar lost 33 pips against the dollar at 1.0423, but gained 95 pips against the euro at 1.3373.
Hmm, maybe the disappointment of recent unemployment and trade balance figures also weighed on the Loonie’s flight. After all, no economic reports from Canada were released yesterday.
Only June’s new motor vehicle sales at 12:30 pm GMT is on tap today, but keep your eyes on the big quarterly GDP report from Germany and the euro zone, as well as the retail sales report from the US. These red flags can affect risk sentiment, so watch your Loonie trades closely!
It sure looks like that trendline on USDCAD is holding! The Loonie remained resilient in the face of dollar strength last Friday. The pair closed at 1.0416, after managing to trade as low as 1.0348 in intraday trading.
New motor vehicles data helped the Loonie’s cause, as a report printed that sales were up 2.5% last June, marking the largest increase in six months.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the Canadian dollar can fight back dollar bulls this week. No data on deck today, but let’s see what happens tomorrow, when manufacturing sales data is released. Manufacturing sales are expected to have risen by 0.5% last June, up from 0.4% increase seen in May.
The big news to watch out for this week will be inflation data coming out on Friday, as the montly CPI report is due. Will the report show that consumer prices are rising, giving the BOC more reason to raise interest rates in coming months?
With risk aversion still chillin’ on the couch, the Loonie took a small hit to start the week. USDCAD rose 63 pips from its opening price. With the pair now sitting right below a major trendline, could we be in for some wild moves today?
Luckily for us, we’ve actually got some data coming out from Canada that could prove to be the catalysts for major moves. At 1:30 pm GMT, both the manufacturing sales report and data on foreign demand for Canadian securities are due. Unfortunately, both are expected to print some dismal results.
First, manufacturing sales are expected to have dipped by 0.5% last June, after sales had grown by 0.4% the month before. Secondly, foreigners are expected to have purchased 9.42 billion CAD worth of Canadian financial assets. This doesn’t even hit HALF of the 23.16 billion CAD sold in May.
If both these reports come in significantly worse than expected, we could see the Loonie take a big hit to the gut!
Make way for the small guys! The Loonie bulls charged up the charts yesterday on a risk appetite rally and positive economic report from Canada that boosted the comdolls against the dollar. USDCAD went up by 118 pips from its open price at 1.0329.
Yesterday Statistics Canada reported that foreigners only bought 5.39 Billion CAD worth of stocks, bonds, and money-market assets in June. After a record high of 23.04 Billion CAD in May, the data has room for a drop, don’t you think?
Good thing the disappointing data was compensated by the surprising 0.1% increase in manufacturing sales in June after analysts pegged the figure to decline by 0.4%. This represented the 11th monthly rise of the data for the past 13 months, and suggested that local demand remains healthy despite the threats of a cooling exports demand.
Canada will take a break from releasing economic reports today, but I don’t think the risk-hungry traders will want to sit this day out, so watch out for any major moves in your charts today!
Is there really cash in Potash? The Loonie bulls seem to think so! Rumors of BHP Billiton taking over the Potash Corp. boosted the Loonie against its major counterparts, and sent USDCAD down 42 pips from its open price at 1.0287.
If BHP succeeds in taking over Potash, the Australian company would seal the year’s largest deal with the Canadian fertilizer company by paying with the local currency, which might drive the Loonie’s prices higher. Word on the forex streets is that BHP recently acquired loans in a second attempt at buying the company after Potash rejected the 39 Billion USD bid. Talk about magic beans!
While we wait for the finale of the takeover drama, you might want to look at the economic reports on our boards today starting with the monthly leading index at 12:30 pm GMT. The figure is expected to rise by 0.7% after clocking in at 1.0% last June, but I doubt the report will rock the charts much because most indicators in the report have already been published.
Meanwhile, the monthly wholesale sales will also be released at the same time, and a number higher than May’s 0.1% decline could signal that cooling global demand isn’t such a big problem for the export-related economy.
The last headliner from Canada is the BOC review, which details the findings of the BOC’s analysts on Canada’s economy and banking industry. Let’s hope they have some good news!
We’re going down down in an earlier round, but sugar, we AIN’T goin’ down swingin’! The Loonie hardly put up a fight against the Greenback yesterday. Then again, after seeing Canada’s horrendous economic data, could we really blame it? USDCAD made a 103-pip leap up the charts to close at 1.0391 at the end of the day.
Although risk aversion wiped out most of the other currencies, the Loonie took a particularly strong hit because of poor economic data.
First off, the leading index for the month of July printed much worse than expected as it gave a reading of 0.4%, almost half of what was forecasted. In fact, results were so bad, analysts decided to downgrade the previous month’s reading from 1.0% to just 0.7%! This report is usually used to gauge the overall trend in the economy. Obviously, things aren’t looking so well in Canada.
At the same time, Canada’s wholesale sales did the exact opposite of what was expected. Forecasts were for a 0.4% uptick, but instead, the month of June decided to go the other direction and record a 0.3% downtick! Could this be another sign of an economic slowdown?
Let’s see if today holds more bad news for the Loonie. At 11:00 am GMT, Canada is set to unveil its CPI figures. Will July print an upside surprise and boost the Loonie by exceeding expectations of a 0.1% increase in prices following June’s 0.1% decline? Or will it send USDCAD higher up the charts by printing below forecasts? Stay tuned, folks!
It’s no magic trick, folks! Canada’s CPI report last Friday proved that what you see isn’t always what you get. Last month’s CPI surpassed analyst expectations, but traders paid more attention to the decline in core CPI. This caused the Loonie to lose across the board, with USDCAD reaching an intraday high of 1.0515 before ending the week at 1.0488.
Higher gasoline prices and a spike in consumption tax boosted July’s CPI to a 0.5% growth from a 0.1% rise last June. Too bad that core CPI, which excludes volatile goods like gas prices and tax effects, unexpectedly dropped for the second month in a row by 0.1%. This signaled less inflationary pressures for the BOC to raise their interest rates from 0.75% on their next monetary policy meeting, and drove away the Loonie bulls.
Will the Loonie have a chance at paring some of its losses last week? No report from Canada is on tap today, but keep your eyes peeled for the retail sales report tomorrow at 12:30 am GMT. Analysts expect a 0.4% improvement in June’s retail sales after declining by 0.2% last May, but a worse-than-expected figure might attract more Loonie bears despite its oversold conditions across the charts.
Going once… going twice… it’s still not sold! Rumors of two other companies countering Australian company BHP’s offer to buy Canadian company Potash might have provided support for the Loonie early in the day, but global growth concerns soon caught up with the Canadian dollar.
USDCAD closed 7 pips away from its intraday high at 1.0523, while CADJPY ended its 64-pip fall at 80.95.
The Loonie’s bulls and bears will have something more than the takeover bid to feast on today when the retail sales report for June is released at 12:30 pm GMT. The figure is expected to increase by 0.4% after dropping by 0.1% last May, while the core retail sales is estimated to show a 0.1% growth. Will the data mirror the better-than-expected retail sales from fellow commodity-related New Zealand? Keep your eyes glued to the tube!
Timbeeeeeer! Down went the Loonie as weak retail sales and risk aversion chopped down Loonie bulls’ hopes. USDCAD flew 80 pips up the charts and perched at 1.0603 at the end of the day.
Canada’s latest core retail sales report was absolutely dismal. There’s really no way to sugarcoat it! Core retail sales declined a staggering 0.5% in June, marking its third consecutive monthly drop. Not only did it fall short of expectations of a mere 0.1% uptick, but June fared even worse than the previous month which posted a 0.3% decrease! It seems like Canadians have really been keeping their money in their pockets!
With no high-impact reports on tap in Canada today, you’re best off monitoring risk sentiment since it seems to be the driving force behind markets lately.
You may also want to check out the US core durable goods orders data at 12:30 pm GMT and their new home sales report at 2:00 pm GMT for your daily report fix. Those two are hard-hitting and can potentially trigger another bout of risk aversion with worse-than-expected results, so stay sharp!
Despite another round of weak US economic figures, USDCAD was unable to bust through the resistance around 1.0660. CADJPY also put up a strong fight as it rallied from the 79.00 area and closed at 79.51.
Weak US data sparked another round of risk aversion yesterday, pushing USDCAD to retest its previous day high. Canada didn’t release any major economic reports yesterday.
Canada’s economic schedule is blank again for today, which means that the Loonie could be driven by risk sentiment once again. Will USDCAD finally be able to break above the 1.0660 area? Well, if US prints a disappointing jobless claims report, risk aversion could push USDCAD higher once more. So stay tuned for the release of the jobless claims data at 12:30 pm GMT!
The Canadian dollar finally had something to smile about, as it ended its 5-day losing streak versus the dollar yesterday. USDCAD fell 53 pips from its opening price to finish the day at 1.0567. Could this just be a breather before buyers come back push price back up?
No data will be coming out from Canada again today, but that doesn’t mean you can kick back, relax and play hockey all day long. Watch out for any sudden moves to end the week, as you never know what might hit the currency markets!
The Loonie got some investor lovin’ last Friday as it gained 42-pips against the dollar. But posting its second consecutive win wasn’t as easy as pie. USDCAD hit an intraday high of 1.0649 before it closed at 1.0524. Whew! I guess it got lucky when currency traders found more flaws on the dollar than they did on it.
See today if the Loonie will get a happy-ever-after ending on the charts with today’s economic reports. At 12:30 pm GMT, we have the industrial product price index which is expected to print at 0.4%, and the raw materials price index which is seen to have been up 0.2% in July.
Adding to that, we have the current account figure for the second quarter on tap and analysts are expecting a 10 billion CAD deficit. Uh oh… This doesn’t sound good for the Loonie because this would indicate that foreigners made fewer transactions in Canada in the second quarter than they did during the first one, when the reading was at -7.8 billion CAD.
Make sure you stay tuned to these reports later as they may just reel you in some pips! And oh, before I forget, take note that Canada’s June GDP is set to be released tomorrow. At 12:30 pm GMT, the market is expecting to see a 0.1% growth in the economy with the consensus up at 0.2%.
Oh, Loonie! You’re gonna send Loonie bulls to the loony bin with the way you’ve been acting! To the dismay of Loonie fans, USDCAD quickly scrambled up the charts as Canada released mixed data alongside the US’s worse-than-expected reports. At the end of the day, the pair closed 104 pips above its opening price of 1.0500.
On one hand, the RMPI report, which measures the change in the prices of manufacturers’ raw materials, posted a 1.8% uptick in July following a 0.2% downtick in June. This was a pleasant surprise as analysts only forecasted a 0.3% increase.
On the other hand, Canada’s current account seems to be faring much worse than expected. Yesterday, investors learned that the country’s trade deficit widened from 8.5 billion CAD to 11 billion CAD in the second quarter of the year, instead of just 10.7 billion CAD as expected.
It seems like weakening demand from the US, which is Canada’s largest trade partner, has been taking its toll on Canada’s exports. Will we see this reflect in June’s GDP figures due at 12:30 pm GMT? Analysts are predicting a 0.2% growth in the economy after seeing a modest 0.1% expansion in May. Watch out for worse-than-expected results that could spark a Loonie sell-off!
“They got nothin’ on you, Loonie…,” sang the traders yesterday as they dumped it in exchange for the dollar. After kick-starting the day at 1.0605, USDCAD dipped to its intraday low of 1.0575. Little did the Loonie know that that was going to be the highlight of its day. Tsk, tsk. The pair then hustled to its 8-week high at 1.0673 before ending the day with a 9-pip loss.
So, what caused the Loonie’s heartbreak?
Well, for one there was the GDP figures for the second quarter. According to Statistics Canada the economy grew 0.2% a monthly basis and hit the consensus. The problem was, on an annualized basis, it seems like the Canadian economy didn’t flex its muscles enough to meet expectations as it only grew 2.0% and missed the 2.5% forecast. Ouch! What made it even worse was that its previous reading was revised down to 5.8% from 6.1%. This intensified speculations that we may not hear an interest hike from BoC on September 8 when it makes its policy announcement.
It also didn’t help that crude oil delivery for October, one of Canada’s biggest [export](http://www.babypips.com/forexpedia/Exports), declined 3.7% yesterday to 71.92 USD. Tsk, tsk. I guess risk aversion really messes up with the Loonie’s pip mojo huh?
We don’t have anything on tap for the currency today so you better make sure you get a feel of the markets risk sentiment before you make your Loonie trades. May the pips be with you!
Well look who’s been sneaking around and stealing pips! Despite the lack of domestic economic data, the Loonie was one of yesterday’s big winners. USDCAD dove 134 pips down the charts and settled at 1.0521 at the end of the day.
The Loonie don’t need no Canada news to boogie, yo! It’s cool like that! Instead, it just chilled and rode the wave of risk appetite brought about by positive manufacturing data from China.
Oil prices brought further joy to Loonie bulls as it rose almost 3% yesterday. Oil is one of Canada’s biggest exports, so its economy stands to benefit when oil prices rise.
It looks like we’ve got another quiet one in Canada today. No reports again! But that doesn’t mean the Loonie will be sitting out on all the action. It might fly further up the charts if risk appetite improves. That’s just how it rolls!