|

USD/CAD declines to near 1.3900 ahead of BoC’s monetary policy decision

  • USD/CAD slumps to near 1.3900 due to a significant weakness in the US Dollar.
  • Market participants start doubting the USD’s credibility due to Trump’s abrupt tariff announcements.
  • Investors await the BoC’s interest rate decision and Fed Powell’s speech.

The USD/CAD pair falls sharply to near 1.3900 in Wednesday’s European session. The Loonie pair weakens as the US Dollar (USD) falls back after a short-recovery move on Tuesday. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, slumps to near 99.40.

Investors continue to dump the US Dollar amid fears that the escalating tariff war between the United States (US) and China would result in a stagflation. The incapability of the US to meet lost imports from China in terms of quantity and prices in a short span of time could lead to an increase in inflationary pressures and slow down the economic growth.

Meanwhile, diminishing credibility of the US Dollar due to erratic tariff announcements by US President Donald Trump has also weighed on the USD Index.

Going forward, the major trigger for the US Dollar will be Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, which is scheduled at 17:30 GMT.

In the neighbouring nation, investors will focus on the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) monetary policy decision, which will be announced at 13:45 GMT. The BoC is expected to leave interest rates at their current levels of 2.75%. This would be the first meeting since June in which the central bank will keep borrowing rates steady. Till now, the BoC has reduced its key borrowing rates by 225 basis points (bps).

Investors will also pay close attention on Boc Governor Tiff Macklem’s press conference to get cues about how Trump’s international policy will shape the monetary policy and the economic outlook.

Economic Indicator

Fed's Chair Powell speech

Jerome H. Powell took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on May 25, 2012, to fill an unexpired term. On November 2, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Powell to serve as the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Powell assumed office as Chair on February 5, 2018.

Read more.

Next release: Wed Apr 16, 2025 17:30

Frequency: Irregular

Consensus: -

Previous: -

Source: Federal Reserve

Author

Sagar Dua

Sagar Dua

FXStreet

Sagar Dua is associated with the financial markets from his college days. Along with pursuing post-graduation in Commerce in 2014, he started his markets training with chart analysis.

More from Sagar Dua
Share:

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

By subscribing you agree to our Terms and conditions.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD retreats toward 1.1700 on modest USD recovery

EUR/USD stays under mild bearish pressure and trades below 1.1750 on Friday. Although trading conditions remain thin following the New Year holiday and ahead of the weekend, the modest recovery seen in the US Dollar causes the pair to edge lower. The economic calendar will not feature any high-impact data releases.

GBP/USD struggles to gain traction, stabilizes near 1.3450

After testing 1.3400 on the last day of 2025, GBP/USD managed to stage a rebound. Nevertheless, the pair finds it difficult to gather momentum and trades marginally lower on the day at around 1.3450 as market participants remain in holiday mood.

Gold climbs toward $4,400 following deep correction

Gold advances toward $4,400 and gains more than 1.5% on the day after suffering heavy losses amid profit-taking heading into the end of the year. Growing expectations for a dovish Fed policy and persistent geopolitical risks seem to be helping XAU/USD stretch higher.

Cardano gains early New Year momentum, bulls target falling wedge breakout

Cardano kicks off the New Year on a positive note and is extending gains, trading above $0.36 at the time of writing on Friday. Improving on-chain and derivatives data point to growing bullish interest, while the technical outlook keeps an upside breakout in focus.

Economic outlook 2026-2027 in advanced countries: Solidity test

After a year marked by global economic resilience and ending on a note of optimism, 2026 looks promising and could be a year of solid economic performance. In our baseline scenario, we expect most of the supportive factors at work in 2025 to continue to play a role in 2026.

Crypto market outlook for 2026

Year 2025 was volatile, as crypto often is.  Among positive catalysts were favourable regulatory changes in the U.S., rise of Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT), adoption of AI and tokenization of Real-World-Assets (RWA).