USD/CAD to reach the 1.42 in mid-term – Rabobank

USD/CAD has reached our end of year target of 1.40 and we fully expect the pair to reach the 1.42 level we highlighted for Q1, Rabobank’s FX analysts Molly Schwartz and Christian Lawrence note.

USD/CAD likely to reach 1.46 next year

“That said, given two main drivers we outline below, we now expect further extension to the upside with USD/CAD likely to reach 1.46 next year, just shy of the highs from 2016 and 2020.We have seen a decrease in USD/CAD correlations of late but fully expect a resumption of interest rate differential driven moves in 2025.”

“Our proprietary FX 1m vol index spiked on November 5th up to a high of 8.27%, and has since depressed to 6.92%. USD/CAD 1m implied volatility has moved in kind, spiking on November 5th, peaking at 6.22%. Vols have declined since that juncture, down to 5.81%.”

“We expect a further widening of US-CA rate differentials will be the primary driver of further upside for USD/CAD deep into 2025. Non-commercial speculators have been net short CAD since August of 2023. Net shorts are currently sitting at -182,389, 3.26 standard deviations below the 5yr average (-22,041).”