USD/CAD Exchange rate
Editors’ Picks
AUD/USD remains on the defensive above the 0.6400 mark following Australian PMI data
The AUD/USD remains on the defensive, trading near 0.6415, losing 0.02% on the day. The Aussie faces some follow-through selling after the Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to hold the interest rate on Wednesday but expected at least one more rate hike for the year.
USD/JPY twisting on the north side of 147.50, Japan CPI ticks lower to 3.2%
The USD/JPY is holding steady with a bullish lean for early Friday trading, teasing into the 147.650 region as the Japanese Yen (JPY) eases on softly-declining national inflation figures.
Gold recovers its losses above $1,910, eyes on US PMI data
Gold price recovers some lost ground around $1,920 amid the USD demand. Hawkish comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Powell drags XAU/USD price lower. Investors will closely watch the preliminary US S&P Global/CIPS PMI data.
Quant price maintains steady multi-month downtrend but 60% of QNT holders remain above water
Quant price is trading with a bearish bias, a steady state that has prevailed for the most part of the year. Despite the downtrend, the majority of QNT token holders remain above water, sitting on unrealized profit.
Japan Interest Rate Decision Preview: Bank of Japan expected to stand pat despite Ueda hawkish hint
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is set to announce its monetary policy decision early on Friday. The Japanese Yen (JPY) could see a wide reaction, not because of the decision itself, but because of any potential hint to the end of the ultra-loose monetary policy that has been in place since early 2016.
Majors
Cryptocurrencies
Signatures
USD/CAD, THE “LOONIE”
The USD/CAD tells the trader how many Canadian dollars (the quote currency) are needed to purchase one U.S. dollar (the base currency). This currency pair is known as the "Loonie", a nickname derived from the picture of a loon, a distinctive bird which appears on one side of Canada's gold-coloured, one Dollar coin.
THE IMPORTANCE OF OIL FOR THE LOONIE
The USD/CAD is one of the three so-called “commodity pairs”, together with AUD/USD, NZD/USD, highly correlated to commodity (especially oil) fluctuations.
Canada is commonly known as a resource-based economy being a large producer and supplier of oil. The leading export market for Canada is by far the United States making its currency particularly sensitive to US consumption data and economical health.
FORECAST FOR 2023
The policy divergence between the BoC and the US Fed could continue to drive USD/CAD’s action in 2023. After raising its policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.5% following the January policy meeting, the BoC announced that it is likely to hold the rate at this level while assessing the impact of cumulative rate hikes.
On the other hand, the Fed left the door open for multiple rate hikes in 2023 as it remains concerned about wage inflation causing price pressures to remain uncomfortably high throughout the year.
Both central banks reiterated that they will be prepared to adjust the policy depending on the developments surrounding inflation and labor market conditions. The respective policy outlooks of the BoC and the Fed favor USD/CAD bulls.
ASSETS THAT INFLUENCE USD/CAD THE MOST
- Commodities: oil but also gold and natural gas are to be taken into account.
- Currencies: JPY and EUR. This group also includes: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CHF, NZD/USD, GBP/JPY and EUR/JPY
- Bonds: CSB (Canada Savings Bonds), CPB (Canada Premium Bond).
- Indices: S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index (the headline index for the Canadian equity market), S&P/TSX Global Gold Index (index of global gold securities) and S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index (benchmarks for related derivative products of Canadian economic sectors).
ORGANIZATIONS, PEOPLE AND ECONOMIC DATA THAT INFLUENCE USD/CAD
In Canada, the organizations and people that affect the most the moves of the USD/CAD pair are:
- Bank of Canada (BoC, Canada’s Central bank) that promotes a safe and sound financial system within tyhe country, issuing statements and deciding on the interest rates of the country. Its president is Tiff Macklem.
- Canadian Government (headed by Justin Trudeau) and its Department of Finance that implement policies that affect the economy of the country.
- CAPP (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers): Canada being a prominent oil and natural gas producer, the trade organization of that industry is very important.
In the USA, we have:
- The US Government (and its President Joe Biden): events as administration statements, new laws and regulations or fiscal policy can increase or decrease the value of the US Dollar and the currencies traded against it, in this case the Canadian Dollar.
- Fed, the Federal Reserve of the United States whose president is Jerome Powell. The Fed controls the monetary policy, through active duties such as managing interest rates, setting the reserve requirement, and acting as a lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of bank insolvency or financial crisis.
In terms of economic data, we should highlight the Trade Account Balance, a balance between exports and imports of total goods and services. A positive value shows trade surplus, while a negative value shows trade deficit. It is an event that generates some volatility for the USD/CAD. If a steady demand in exchange for CAD exports is seen, that would turn into a positive growth in the trade balance, and that should be positive for the CAD.
Inflation is another economic value that is important for the USD/CAD pair. It is measured among others by the CPI (Consumer Price Index) and the PPI (Production Price Index). They are key indicators to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends.