Australian Dollar and Canadian Dollar take hits on commodity tumbles

The Australian and Canadian dollars were among the worst-performing major currencies on the day, as sharp drops in global raw material prices sunk the commodity-sensitive pairs. The AUDUSD tumbled 1.22 percent on sharp pullbacks in Gold and Silver prices, while the USDCAD jumped 0.8 percent on a 6.5 percent rout in the front-month NYMEX Crude Oil contract. Traders punished energy prices following a US Department of Energy report that showed crude oil stockpiles surged in the week ending July 24—sign that demand for crude and crude distillates remains weak. The disappointment forced sympathetic drops in other markets, and the Reuters CRB Commodities Index finished at multi-week lows. Negligible fundamental event risk means that the Aussie and Loonie will continue to track the CRB and Crude Oil prices, and it will be critical to watch whether energy prices can recover some of the day’s impressive losses.