Unlike other major currencies that were able to stay afloat, the Loonie weakened and lost once again versus the Greenback. USD/CAD ended the day at 1.0192, up 19 pips from its opening price during the Asian session at 1.0173. Just to give you an idea of how the Loonie has been performing, out of the last six days, the Loonie has lost four times.
Canada’s report on foreign securities purchases considerably failed to meet market expectations. It showed a surplus of 1.16 billion CAD, which was significantly worse than the 5.36 billion CAD forecast. This indicates that value of Canadian stocks, bonds, and other money-market assets purchased by foreigners have greatly declined.
Will today’s data be able to turn the Loonie around? At 12:30 pm GMT, Canada’s Consumer Price Index will be published. The headline report is anticipated to show a flat reading while the core is projected to show a 0.2% rise. Rising CPI figures are usually considered bullish for the domestic currency while falling CPI figures normally lead to a weaker domestic currency.
Higher oil prices? So what?! Loonie traders shrugged off a slight recovery in oil prices when Canada printed a softer-than-expected inflation report. USD/CAD shot up by a whopping 99 pips and ended the week right around its 2013 highs. Unfortunately, Canadian inflation wasn’t the only news that brought the Loonie down.
Although a softer-than-expected inflation hints that the new Bank of Canada head would be free to introduce economic stimulus if needed, the Loonie was also weighed down by a general lack of appetite for the comdolls.
As I mentioned in my AUD and NZD pieces, comdoll bears had a party over gold’s falling prices. Apparently, the decline in other major comdolls was enough to prop USD/CAD even higher.
Canadian markets are out on Victoria Holiday today, so we probably won’t see CAD-induced action on the Loonie pairs until tomorrow when BOC head Mark Carney gives a speech in Montreal at 4:45 pm GMT.
Just like its comdoll siblings, the Canadian dollar posted some decent gains versus the dollar to start the week. USD/CAD dropped 50 pips to finish at 1.0238, marking the first time in 5 days that the pair finished lower.
Higher oil prices were partially responsible for the rally in the Canadian dollar, but we also can’t discount what happened below the border. Hit up my USD commentary for the 411 on the Greenback!
Just watch out for BOC Governor Mark Carney’s speech in front of the Board of Trade at 4:45 pm. This will be one of his last speeches as head honcho of the BOC, so who knows what he might say!
The Loonie was no match to the dollar in yesterday’s trading. USD/CAD traded higher almost as soon as the markets opened, rallying to an intraday high of 1.0322. By the end of the New York session, the pair had settled at 1.0268 with a 30-pip loss.
But don’t fret! Perhaps the Loonie can find support from the Canadian retail sales report due today! Data on consumer spending in Canada is expected to show a 0.2% uptick for March. If the actual reading comes in better than expected, we could see the Loonie finally reverse its losses to the dollar. So make sure you don’t miss it, ayt?
The combination of the Ben Bernanke’s speech and weak retail sales figures from Canada took the Loonie to fresh 11-month lows against the Greenback. USD/CAD began the day at 1.0267, but found itself at 1.0372 by the end of the U.S. trading session.
Canada’s retail sales report greatly missed forecast. The headline retail sales report showed a flat reading, and not an increase of 0.2% like the market had initially expected. Moreover, the core version of the report that excludes automobile sales actually showed a 0.2% decline instead of a 0.2% rise.
No major data on the docket for the Loonie today so we’ll likely see either the pair stall as traders pause and catch their breaths or a continuation of yesterday’s move. Be careful trading today!
Following the lead of its comdoll siblings, the Canadian dollar staged a nice rally versus the Greenback yesterday. USD/CAD closed 79 pips lower to finish at 1.0293.
One reason why the Canadian dollar rallied yesterday was actually due to dollar weakness. With the dollar dropping across the board, higher yielding currencies and comdolls all traded higher yesterday.
Once again we’ve got nothing lined up from Canada today, so I suspect that USD/CAD trading will mostly be affected by dollar flows. Make sure you hit up my USD commentary to find out what lies ahead during the New York session!
The Loonie bulls must have been listening to Nelly’s Just a Dream as they watched the comdoll print another red day against the Greenback following a strong rally last Thursday. USD/CAD ended the day with a 27-pip gain after hitting a high at 1.0357.
We didn’t see any reports from Canada last Friday, but the weak Chinese PMI did a number on the comdolls, enough for the Loonie to pare most of its gains against the Greenback. It also didn’t help that crude oil fell by 3 cents as concerns for global economic growth gripped the markets.
We won’t be seeing any fireworks from Canada’s economic board today, so make sure that you got your eyes peeled for any news that might affect the comdolls’ price action!
Mark another one down for the bears! Once again, sellers seized control of the Loonie, pushing USD/CAD 31 pips higher to 1.0337. Let’s see if they’ll make another run towards the previous high around 1.0400!
We didn’t hear anything new from Canada yesterday, and it doesn’t have any red flags on tap for today either. So for now, the markets have their eyes set on the big BOC rate statement, which is scheduled for tomorrow.
Many analysts believe that the central bank will retain its tightening bias in what will be Mark Carney’s last rate statement as BOC Governor, so don’t be surprised if the Loonie’s losses are limited. Some even say that the BOC might give clues as to when it plans to hike rates. If Carney does drop hints, it could lend the Loonie some much-needed support. Stay on your toes, fellas!
With the dollar on a roll, the Canadian dollar simply couldn’t keep pace, as it stumbled late in the New York session. USD/CAD rose nearly 60 pips to finish the day at 1.0395 and is now trading around the key 1.0400 handle. The question is, will it hold?
USD/CAD got a nice boost thanks to better-than-expected consumer confidence data. Make sure you hit up my USD commentary for more details on how that report affected the rest of the currency markets.
We could be in for a wild ride trading the Loonie today, as we’ve got the Bank of Canada interest rate decision lined up at 2:00 pm GMT. No major changes are expected, but you know how these interest rate statements are – you never know what might happen! My good friend Forex Gump actually just posted a trading guide for the BOC interest rate decision, so make sure you read that as well!
The losing streak ends at three! Yesterday, the Loonie was finally able to pare some of its losses against the dollar after the BOC’s slightly optimistic rate statement. USD/CAD fell below 1.0400 during the New York session to finish the day with a 45-pip gain for the Loonie at 1.0351.
Mark Carney gave his last speech as BOC Governor yesterday. As expected, there was no change in interest rates and the bank still thinks that there’s still some slack in the economy. However, policymakers did acknowledge that growth is stronger now than it was previously anticipated in April. Boo yeah!
No top-tier report is due from Canada today which makes me wonder if the optimism we heard from yesterday’s monetary policy statement will be enough for the Loonie to sustain its rally. What do you think?
My my, what a nasty tumble! USD/CAD initially found support at the 1.0350 area, climbed to a high of 1.0389, then plummeted to the 1.0300 mark. What was that all about?
Canadian inflation reports came in weaker than expected for the month of April, as the raw materials price index posted a 2.2% decline while the industrial product price index showed a 0.8% drop. These weak figures suggest that overall inflation could remain subdued in the coming months, and this weighed on the Canadian dollar.
But just when it seemed the Loonie selloff would last, the U.S. reported a slight downward revision in its GDP reading for the first quarter of the year. With that, USD/CAD took a U-turn from its drive up north and headed south instead.
Canada will be releasing its monthly GDP figure for March at 1:30 pm GMT today. The economy is expected to have expanded by 0.1% during the month, which would be enough to give Canada positive quarterly growth for the first three months of the year. Stay on your toes for the actual release because a stronger than expected figure could mean another USD/CAD selloff.
Good economic data? So what?! The Loonie didn’t catch a break from the Greenback strength last Friday even as Canada printed upside surprises in its economic reports. USD/CAD finished the day 68 pips higher than its open price after hitting an intraday high of 1.0382.
The Loonie might have had a chance if the Loonie bulls and bears were only looking at Canadian data. Canada’s GDP came in at 0.6% for the first quarter, its fastest pace in six quarters. Its monthly reading also surprised the markets when it came in at 0.2%, higher than the expected 0.1% increase.
Too bad that other factors came into play. Not only did the Greenback kill its other counterparts, but risk appetite in general took a hit and took oil prices along with it. As you know, the Loonie is closely related oil prices because Canada is one of the biggest oil exporters.
Let’s see if the Loonie will have any luck this week. Canada won’t be printing economic reports today, but potential market movers like Canada’s trade balance, IVEY PMI, and employment numbers are due some time this week. Don’t even think of missing these potential big hitters!
After a bit of indecision during the Asian session, the Loonie flexed its muscles during the U.S. session, taking USD/CAD all the way down to a low of 1.0260. Will the Canadian dollar continue to dominate today?
There were no economic reports released from Canada yesterday, as the Loonie simply took advantage of dollar weakness resulting from weak U.S. reports. The U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI disappointed, as it fell from 50.7 to 49.0, indicating that the industry contracted in May.
Canada will be releasing its trade balance at 1:30 pm GMT today. The report is expected to show a deficit of 0.4 billion CAD for April, as imports probably outpaced exports for the month. A weaker than expected figure could force the Loonie to give up its recent gains so watch out for the actual release if you’re trading the Loonie!
The day belonged to Loonie bears as USD/CAD climbed 67 pips up the charts. Did the weaker-than-expected trade balance report have a hand in the Loonie’s slide?
Probably not! The truth is, the market hardly moved after the report revealed a wider-than-expected trade deficit. From a balance of 0.0 billion CAD in March, Canada posted a deficit of 0.6 billion CAD, which is 0.2 billion CAD below expectations. As it turns out, imports were at record levels in April, but exports, unfortunately, dropped for the first time in five months.
Today, we have building permits data coming out at 12:30 pm GMT. Analysts don’t feel very optimistic about this report as they’re predicting a 2.3% decrease following the previous month’s 8.6% surge. Could this report serve as a catalyst for a bounce from or break of the 1.0400 handle on USD/CAD? You’ll just have to wait and see for yourself, homies!
After a few days of wild moves, USD/CAD price action finally calmed down, as it pretty much just consolidated throughout the day. USD/CAD eventually ended the day trading at it is opening price around 1.0344.
Building permits rose an unexpected 10.5%, which marks a nice follow up to the 6.0% growth we saw the month before. Moreover, this was WAY better than the anticipated 2.3% drop. Nevertheless, this didn’t have too much of an effect on USD/CAD trading.
Could we be in for some wild moves tonight? After all, newly appointed BOC Governor Stephen Poloz will be stepping up to the plate at 12:45 pm GMT, to talk before the Common Standings Committee on Finance. Will he drop some hints about his take on monetary policy? Who knows!
Watch out also at 2:00 pm GMT, as the monthly IVEY PMI report is scheduled to hit the airwaves. Experts are predicting that the index will improve from 52.2 to 55.3. A better than expected result could lead to a nice rally for the Canadian dollar, so make sure you pay attention to this release!
The Loonie definitely felt the love in yesterday’s trading! Thanks to the overall dollar weakness, it was able to finish the day in the green. USD/CAD closed 82 pips below its opening price at 1.0264.
It would seem that concerns about the upcoming U.S. NFP report were enough to convince traders to sell the dollar. Of course, it helped that the Loonie got a bit of good news from Canada. The Ivey PMI for May came in way above the 55.3 forecast at 63.1. Boo yeah!
Today will probably be another volatile day for USD/CAD with both the U.S. and Canadian jobs reports on tap. Both are due at 12:30 pm GMT. If you’re looking to buy the Loonie, keep your fingers crossed that the Canadian jobs figure comes in better than the expected 16,100 reading and the unemployment rate prints lower than 7.2%.
Good luck!
Canada’s employment numbers might not have completely stolen the U.S. NFP’s thunder last Friday, but it sure gave a good fight! Thanks to a notable improvement in the report, USD/CAD plummeted by another 62 pips to 1.0198.
Last Friday Canada’s employment numbers absolutely destroyed its expectations. The report showed that 95,000 workers found jobs in May, the highest on record, while the unemployment rate slipped from 7.2% to 7.1%. And if that’s not good enough for you, you should also know that quarterly labor productivity also inched higher from 0.1% to 0.2%. With figures like these, it’s no wonder that Canadians always seem happy!
Canada only has the housing starts report at 12:15 pm GMT scheduled on the docket for today. The next report is scheduled on Thursday, so over the next few days the Loonie traders could look at other factors for direction. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for any sentiment-changing reports, aight?
Boooooooring! Because of the lack of tier 1 economic data, USD/CAD was completely directionless yesterday, and simply traded within a very tight range. The pair began the day at 1.0207, paced back and worth between 1.0225 and 1.0166, and then closed at 1.0194.
Canada’s housing starts data yesterday came in notably better than expected. It published an annualized 200,000 figure, higher than the forecast of 176,000 and last month’s 176,000.
No red flag on Canada’s docket today, so we’ll likely see USD/CAD trade sideways again, especially since it is the summer in the U.S. Liquidity is much thinner, and currency pairs usually trade in ranges.
That was a close one! Comdoll aversion and disappointing crude oil reports pushed USD/CAD to an intraday high of 1.0253, but the bulls managed to hold off the bears as the pair closed 2 pips lower than its open price. Phew!
Weak Australian data and lack of action from the BOJ spurred on the Loonie bears in the early trading sessions yesterday. It also didn’t help that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised crude oil output to its highest level in six months. Remember that higher crude oil stocks could most likely lead to lower oil prices, which is bad for the oil-related Loonie.
Good thing that Canada has been printing upside surprises in its major reports lately! The question is, how long will the optimism last? We won’t be seeing any reports from Canada today, so you might want to pay attention to overall comdoll appetite and U.S. dollar price action!
Poor, poor Loonie! It was the only comdoll that was unable to chalk up gains against the Greenback! Despite a rise in oil prices, demand for the Loonie remained weak as USD/CAD climbed 25 pips to finish at 1.0214. What’s it going to do today?
Well, it might just erase yesterday’s losses if its economic releases print strong results! At 12:30 pm GMT, the NHPI will be available, and according to forecasts, we can expect a 0.3% increase in house prices, up from 0.1% the previous month. Similarly, the capacity utilization rate is expected to increase from 80.7% to 81.3%.
But remember, though these two reports have the potential to affect Loonie price action (especially if they print similar results), they aren’t historically known to be major market movers. So if you’re looking to trade USD/CAD, you might want to pay close attention to the U.S. retail sales report instead, as it is also due at 12:30 pm GMT.