Despite a strong GDP report, the Loonie ended yesterday’s trading almost unchanged against the Greenback. USD/CAD spiked to an intraday high of 1.0059 before closing at 1.0015, just one pip lower than its closing price.
It was reported that Canada’s economy grew by 0.4% in November which was double the consensus and its previous reading. Making it even better was that it translated to the fastest rate of growth in eight months!
I know, this should have been pretty bullish for the currency, right?
Too bad for the Loonie, BOC Governor Mark Carney’s loose lips sank its pips. The central banker said in an interview that the Loonie’s strength has become a threat to the Canadian economy. Uh oh.
Consequently, this might have implied that the BOC will not be raising interest rates anytime soon despite robust growth.
And so, you may want to keep this in mind for the next couple of days since we won’t have anything on our economic calendarfor the currency. Make sure you tune in to what’s on tap for its counterparts and gauge market sentiment too. Happy trading y’all!
After opening at its intraday high at 1.0015, USD/CAD tumbled down to .9909 faster than you can say Punxsutawney Phil!
Traders showed the Loonie some love when President Mubarak of Egypt announced that he will step down from his post when he finishes his term and somehow let investors breathe a sigh of relief. A few also say that the better-than-expected ISM manufacturing index from the U.S. helped fuel risk appetite too.
And so, with still nothing on tap for the Loonie on our economic calendar today, make sure you get a feel of market sentiment!
Take note that Canada’s much-anticipated employment figures are due on Friday and we may see a round of profit-taking at the wake of the release. Be careful, ayt? Peace!
That’s strike three against the Greenback! No economic reports were released from Canada yesterday, but the Loonie clobbered the scrilla for the third day in a row yesterday. After opening at .9909, USD/CAD dropped to an intraday low of .9861, but settled only 26 pips lower than its open price.
Economic reports from the U.S. were mixed, but the escalating tension in Egypt is causing commodity prices to rise. If you’ve read the best forexeducation site, then you’ll know that high oil prices is usually good for the black crack-related Loonie.
The boards are empty over the land of maple syrup again today, but keep close tabs on my homies in Egypt, will ya? If the government doesn’t find a way to let them play Farmville or ease their concerns soon, then we just might see the Loonie rocket higher in the pip charts!
Without any economic data on tap, the Loonie got knocked out into the bear lair during yesterday’s trading, nursing a 27-pip loss. It was able to go as high as .9865 when the dollar threw in an uppercut that landed USD/CAD at .9910.
Let’s see if the Loonie can redeem itself on the charts today with its employment report for January. At 12:00 pm GMT, the market is anticipating to see that the labor market added 18,900 people into the workforce during the month. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is seen to have remained steady at 7.6%.
We also have the Ivey PMI at 3:00 pm GMT to give us a feel of just how healthy Canada’s economy was in January. After falling to 50.0 in December, analysts are expecting to see that purchasing managers to have gotten their swag back for the economy with the forecast up at 53.4.
Be on your guard for better-than-expected figures because these may just fuel the Loonie’s rally. Be careful though! Remember that the U.S. is also releasing its much-anticipated NFP report. Good luck!
With superb data to back it up, the Loonie became the only comdoll to win against the dollar on Friday. It tapped a new three-year high at.9832 before ending the week at .9883, with a 27-pip win for the day.
It was reported last Friday that Canada added 69,200 people into the labor market in January. This might have left a bunch of traders starstruck and breathless since the increase was more than double the job growth we saw in December and more than quadruple the forecast of 15,000!
On the other hand, the unemployment rate came in higher at 7.8% than the market consensus which was for a 7.6% uptick to match its reading for the previous month.
Is it just me, or is Canada’s employment report the opposite of what we saw from the U.S.?
Nonetheless, most economic gurus were really impressed with the employment report for January. However, I don’t think it will be enough for the BOC to start hollering rates anytime soon given the contraction in manufacturing activity we saw during the same month.
The Ivey PMI fell below the baseline figure of 50.0 that indicated industry expansion, and printed at 41.4. Disappointing the market consensus of 53.3 and being at its lowest level in 2 years, this could even be a reason for the central bank to stick to a looser monetary policy! Some naysayers even think that the Loonie’s recent strength could be one of the factors that caused the collapse in manufacturing activity. Uh oh!
See if the Loonie’s strength also weighed on Canada’s trade in December when the trade balance report is released on Friday at 1:30 pm GMT. If it prints along expectations, showing that the country’s trade deficit widened to 400 million CAD during the month from 100 million CAD the month before, the Loonie may just give back some of its gains to the dollar.
Meanwhile for today, watch out for the December building permits report at 1:15 pm GMT. Analysts have predicted a 2.9% growth for the month to partly erase the 11.2% decline we saw in November. Watch out for a better-than-expected figure as this may just send the Loonie to a new high!
The currency bulls felt the pip-love for the Loonie yesterday when Canada’s economic report didn’t turn out as bad as analysts expected. USD/CAD managed to cap the day 22 pips higher than its open price after sliding to an intraday low of .9858.
Canada’s building permits report released yesterday showed that permits rose by 2.4% in December, while November’s 11.2% decline is also revised to only a 10.5% fall. Since more building permits often lead to more construction-related purchases and employment, the bulls were able to hustle enough pip muscle to push the Loonie up the charts.
Let’s see if Canada can manage to print another positive economic report today when the housing startsdata for January is released. The record showed 168,000 starts last December, so a higher number might produce the same good vibes as a positive building permits report.
Stay in pip-shape, amigos!
A surprise 25 basis points rate hike from the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) sent risk traders scurrying for cover yesterday as they exchanged their Loonies for the Greenback. When the trading day was over, USD/CAD was trading at .9947, 50 pips higher from its opening price.
The interest rate hike was the PBoC’s second rate increase in just over a month, showing that the bank is indeed determined to bring inflation down to their desired level. Whether the PBoC’s move will truly have a long-term effect on USD/CAD remains to be seen as the pair is still well below parity.
The single data release from Canada was of no help. While an improvement from the previous report, The housing starts reported that the annualized number of new residential buildings that began construction in January only amounted to 170,400, lower than the 173,000 initially expected.
Canada’s economic cupboard for today presents nothing of interest, so we could see USD/CAD trade within a tight range. Keep a close eye on session highs and lows, as they may very well hold!
Ever seen a tuna sashimi served on a plate? Well, that’s exactly how USD/CAD’s price action looked – chopped up! Due to the absence of economic data, the pair was unable to find clear direction all day and just bounced around its session highs and lows. At the end of the trading day, USD/CAD found itself only 8 pips lower from its opening price at .9939.
No big reports coming from Canada today as only the new housing price index (NHPI) is due. It’ll come out at 1:30 pm GMT and is expected to show a rise of 0.6% in the prices of new houses for December, which is double the increase seen the month before.
For now, keep a close eye on the pair for any possible breakouts. It has consolidated into a very tight range and a break at either side could send the pair strongly in one-direction!
Tough luck, buddy! The Loonie had trouble sustaining its gains against the Greenback yesterday on strong dollar demand and poor comdoll market environment. USD/CAD capped the day with a 20-pip gain after peaking at an intraday high of .9989.
Worse-than-expected employment figures in Australia soured the bulls’ sentiment on comdolls yesterday, and it also didn’t help that Canada’s new housing price index only grew by 0.1% in December after printing a 0.3% growth in November.
Let’s hope Canada will make up for the lost pips today! It has a big chance today at 1:30 pm GMT when the trade balance report is released. A lower trade deficit than November’s 0.1 billion CAD could mean that Canada’s exports have more demand, or that it has controlled its imports.
Stay sharp for the last trading day of the week!
The Loonie must have been inspired by the movie of the kid down my block named Justin Bieber last Friday as it took a never-say-never stance and knocked back a few pips from the Greenback. After reaching an intraday high of .9987, USD/CAD dropped by 119 pips and closed at .9868. Boo yeah!
Canada’s trade balance report was the reason why currency bulls turned into Loonie groupies as it printed a 3 billion CAD trade surplus in December, its first surplus in 10 months. Apparently, the surplus was boosted by the biggest improvement in exports, which was fueled by big increases in energy and metals exports. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the U.S. economy, Canada’s largest trading partner, is slowly gaining momentum.
Can the Loonie bulls keep charging this week? Only Canada’s new motor vehicle sales at 1:30 pm GMT is due today, so keep close tabs on risk and commodity sentiment today, aight?
After 24 hours of trading, the Loonie ended up unchanged against the Greenback! Neither currency gave way as USD/CAD was eventually able to recoup the losses it incurred early in the day. When all was said and done, the pair closed at .9884, unchanged from its opening price.
The only bit of data we saw from Canada was the new motor vehicle sales report for December, which recorded a 4.8% fall following November’s 0.3% increase. Even though the results were quite disappointing, this report didn’t shake up the markets at all as very few market players pay attention to this release. Also, oil prices held steady yesterday, which helps explain the lack of movement in USD/CAD.
Since Canada’s economic calendar is empty today, you ought to shift your attention to China and the U.S. China is expected to roll out its CPI at 2:00 am GMT. Keep an eye out for stronger-than-expected inflation that may give the PBoC more reason to tighten monetary policy.
Also, the U.S. is due to publish retail sales data at 1:30 pm GMT. A better-than-expected reading from this release could cause USD/CAD to rise back up to parity. Needless to say, don’t miss these reports because they’re potential market-rockers!
Whoops! Looks like Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never wasn’t the only slider in the charts! Canada didn’t release any report yesterday, but the Loonie took a hit against the Greenback. USD/CAD crawled 16 pips higher at .9900 after dropping to an intraday low of .9852.
Dollar demand might have dictated USD/CAD’s price action yesterday, but the Loonie has a chance to fire its own shots today! The foreign securities purchases report will be out at 1:30 pm GMT together with the leading index and manufacturing sales reports.
Pip hunters expect foreign securities purchases and the leading index to edge lower from their previous figures, but manufacturing sales is expected to grow by 2.3% from its 0.8% slip in November.
Keep close tabs on these reports, and share them on our Twitter and Facebook hubs!
Boom! The Loonie turned into a firework and blasted the Greenback to pip deeps even though Canada released mixed economic reports. Now why does this remind me of that hot lady named Katy Perry? Anyway, USD/CAD tipped to an intraday high of .9896 before it fell 46 pips below its closing price and closed at .9850.
Canada’s foreign securities purchases report revealed that non-Canadian folks added another 9.6 billion CAD worth of stocks, bonds, and money-market assets purchases in the month of December. Also, manufacturing sales printed to the upside with a 0.4% growth, an improvement from the 0.6% dip in November.
The leading index report turned out to be a drag though. The index of economic indicators only inched up by 0.3% after growing by 0.4% in December.
Will Canada sustain the string of relatively positive reports today? The wholesale sales report is due today at 1:30 pm GMT, while the BOC will also release its economic review for the fourth quarter today at 3:30 pm GMT.
Stick around for these reports!
Loonie bulls must be snackin’ on some Kit Kats, ‘cause those homies be takin’ a break yo! Amidst weak wholesale sales data, USD/CAD fell to a low of .9816 but eventually ended the day virtually unchanged at .9849.
Wholesale sales in the Land of Maple Trees rose 0.8% in December, short of the forecasted 1.3% growth. But a closer look at reveals that this 0.8% increase isn’t really much to frown about. It marks the fifth straight month of growth! But the best part is that growth was pretty evenly distributed. Six out of the seven subsectors recorded gains in December. And remember, December was a BAD month weather-wise! Not bad, eh?
Today, we’ve got Canadian CPI on the table. After seeing no changes in prices in December, analysts are anticipating a 0.3% rise in January. I don’t think I need to remind y’all that this is a potential market-shaking report! Energy costs have been on the rise lately, and this could lead to a strong CPI reading… and a Loonie rally!
With inflationary pressures appearing to die down, the Canadian dollar couldn’t join in on the fun versus the dollar. USD/CAD trading was tight, and the pair ended just 10 pips higher on the day to finish at .9860.
While the headline CPI report came in just as expected at 0.3% growth for the month of January, core consumer prices showed no growth at all. On a year-on-year basis, inflation ticked down from 2.4% in December to 2.3% in January.
While only one of the eight major components of the index showed a downtick, it seems that the markets paid more attention to the big fat 0% figure that we saw. Remember, inflation and interest rates are dominating the headlines right now, so if a report shows that inflation growth is subdued, it may be bearish for the local currency, as it would give the central bank less reason to rise rates.
Looking at our economic calendar, the only major report coming out from Canada this week is the retail sales report on Tuesday. Word is that we may not have seen much spending last December, with sales flat lining. Good news is though, that experts expect core sales, which doesn’t include automobile purchases, is expected to show 0.7% growth.
What does this mean? Automobile sales dragged down sales! I have a hunch that we’ll see the weather blamed for this. After all, how can anyone test drive a car when the roads are all snowed and iced up?
Oil, baby! Thanks to the unexpected rise in oil prices yesterday, the Loonie was able to post some nice gains over other major currencies yesterday. USD/CAD closed the day at .9828, which was almost 40 pips lower from its opening price.
Apparently, the outbreak of riots in Libya has fueled oil supply worries (there was a pun in there if you didn’t notice). Libya, the eighth biggest producer of oil and a member of the OPEC (a.k.a. Black Crack Mafia), threatened to stop oil exports to Western countries if the protests do not stop.
Let’s see if the release of Canada’s retail sales will continue to support Loonie. Due to come out at 1:30 pm GMT, the retail sales is expected to show that there was no growth in sales in January, which is disappointing considering since there was 1.3% increase in December. The core version of the report, however, is predicted to show a rise of 0.7%. If the actual figures beat forecast, expect to see the Loonie to stage another nice rally!
No one went loony for the Loonie yesterday as poor retail sales data caused traders to ditch the Canadian currency. As a result, USD/CAD rose sharply from its opening price of .9828 and finished the day at .9908.
Aside from the bout of risk aversion that dealt a blow to higher-yielding currencies, the Loonie was hurt by a disappointing retail sales report. December’s stats showed that retail sales dropped 0.2% after November showed a respectable 1.5% month-on-month gain.
Harsh winter weather is probably at least partially to blame for the disappointing results. But it also seems Canada’s high levels of debt brought about by its record-low interest rates have been limiting consumer spending as of late. Don’t be surprised to see the BOC sit on its hands some more if this trend continues.
Nothing noteworthy coming out of Canada today. But you know the drill! Keep your risk sentiment hats on because risk sentiment may continue to drive USD/CAD in the absence of economic data!
Up, down, back and forth! The Loonie was a virtual tug-o-war match yesterday! Bears were counting on risk aversion while bulls were hoping for rising oil prices to move the currency. In the end, USD/CAD ended just 20 pips lower at .9888.
The tension in Libya was still a big concern in markets yesterday. It added uncertainty to global markets, making investors hesitant to buy up high-yielding currencies such as the Loonie.
But on the upside, U.S. crude oil prices rushed to a new 28-month high at $100 a barrel. As y’all already know, Canada is one of the U.S.’s biggest oil suppliers. Given the strong correlation between oil prices and the Loonie, it wasn’t surprising to see the currency end the day higher.
The only data unloaded from Canada was the quarterly corporate profits report. According to Q4’s numbers, corporate operating profits surged 7.9%, much better than the 0.3% rise we saw in Q3. But perhaps the best news was that improvements were seen across the board. Of the 22 total industries surveyed, 19 reported higher profits!
Don’t hold your breath for any more economic data from Canada. They’re all out for the week! For now, keep an eye on oil prices as it may continue to dictate the Loonie’s movements.
The Loonie must have felt like Taio Cruz during yesterday’s trading as it soared higher and higher, tapping its new 3-year high against the dollar at .9817 before ending the day with a 56-pip win at .9832. Boo yeah!
Just like yesterday, our economic calendar is still blank for reports from Canada. So you may want to keep tabs on how oil is doing because it has been fueling the comdoll’s flight on the charts.
Remember that in our black crack lesson on the School of Pipsology, the Loonie usually rallies when oil prices rise because Canada is one of the world’s top oil producers.
I think Forex Gump mentioned this in his blog yesterday too. Give it a read to get some tips on how to trade the Loonie!
Y’all can’t touch this! Once again, the Canadian dollar strutted its stuff on the forex dance floor as commodities kept the comdolls dancing. When the last song came to an end, USD/CAD finished 46 pips lower at .9786.
The Loonie didn’t need any economic data to continue its bull run. With momentum on its side and commodities still hangin’ high, it was able to forge new highs against the USD, which has been an unpopular choice as of late.
We’ve got a promising week ahead of us.
Canada will start the week off today at 1:30 pm GMT with its GDP report for December. This is the last piece to the Q4 GDP puzzle as November and October’s stats have already been counted. With that in mind, this report may not be as moving as other countries’ GDP releases. However, there’s still a chance we’ll see some big moves if the report deviates from the 0.3% growth that most are expecting to see.
Also at 1:30 pm GMT, we have current account data on tap. Survey says that Canada’s current deficit will probably shrink from 17.5 billion CAD to 9.4 billion CAD. Will strong exports deliver an even smaller deficit? You’ll just have to wait and see for yourself!
Then tomorrow, at 2:00 pm GMT, the BOC will be making its interest rate statement. Since the Loonie has been appreciating like crazy as of late, the BOC will probably see little reason to hike rates. Though its economy has been performing fairly, it will probably not want to risk cutting its recovery short with an ill-timed rate hike. Besides, the central bank doesn’t seem to be too bothered by current inflationary pressures.
Last on the list of reports to keep an eye out for this week is the Ivey PMI. According to forecasts, you should prepare yourselves to see a huge drop from 53.4 to 41.4 in the index. Brace yourselves, kids! If these forecasts come true, it could be disastrous for the Loonie as it would be the first time in a year that the index recorded contraction.