- Canadian Dollar broadly weaker, loses ground across board.
- Canada brings little meaningful data to the table.
- CAD traders forced to wait until Friday’s Retail Sales.
The Canadian Dollar (CAD) backslid once again on Thursday, piling on further weakness and dipping to 30-week lows. A lack of meaningful Canadian economic data is giving the CAD little support, and markets are focusing on an upside surprise in US Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) figures in May.
Canada will print March Retail Sales on Friday, alongside US Durable Goods Orders. The latest update from the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index will also be delivered on Friday. Investors are broadly expecting Canadian Retail Sales to rebound slightly, while US Durable Goods are expected to soften slightly. Meanwhile, UoM Consumer Sentiment is expected to tick upwards, while Consumer Inflation Expectations are forecast to hold steady at 3.1%.
Daily digest market movers: Canadian Housing sees little impact against US PMI figures
- Canadian New Housing Price Index rises 0.2% MoM in April versus the previous 0.0%. Investors expected a print of 0.1%.
- US Initial Jobless Claims eased to 215K in the week ended May 17, down from the previous week’s 223K (revised from 222K) and below the forecast of 220K.
- US S&P Global Manufacturing PMI recovered to 50.9 in May, climbing over the forecasted hold of 50.0.
- The Services PMI component also rose to a 12-month high of 54.8.
- Market hopes for a September rate cut from the Federal Reserve (Fed) are evaporating. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, rate markets are pricing in barely over 50% odds of a quarter-point cut in September, down sharply from over 70% odds at the beginning of the week.
Canadian Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Canadian Dollar (CAD) against listed major currencies today. Canadian Dollar was the weakest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.15% | 0.22% | 0.06% | 0.32% | 0.32% | 0.06% | -0.10% | |
| EUR | -0.15% | 0.07% | -0.10% | 0.17% | 0.18% | -0.10% | -0.25% | |
| GBP | -0.22% | -0.07% | -0.16% | 0.08% | 0.11% | -0.16% | -0.32% | |
| JPY | -0.06% | 0.10% | 0.16% | 0.26% | 0.25% | -0.06% | -0.17% | |
| CAD | -0.32% | -0.17% | -0.08% | -0.26% | 0.00% | -0.26% | -0.42% | |
| AUD | -0.32% | -0.18% | -0.11% | -0.25% | -0.00% | -0.26% | -0.45% | |
| NZD | -0.06% | 0.10% | 0.16% | 0.06% | 0.26% | 0.26% | -0.16% | |
| CHF | 0.10% | 0.25% | 0.32% | 0.17% | 0.42% | 0.45% | 0.16% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Canadian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent CAD (base)/USD (quote).
Technical analysis: Softer CAD eases further, sends USD/CAD to 1.3740
The Canadian Dollar (CAD) is broadly weaker on Thursday, shedding weight across the board. The CAD is down one quarter of one percent against the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) but holding close to flat against the Australian Dollar (AUD).
USD/CAD broke above the 1.3700 handle on Thursday as the mixed-performance Greenback outpaces the softening Canadian Dollar. The pair has risen into a two-week high and is on pace to close higher for a fourth straight day. Four of the last five daily candles have closed in the green.
USD/CAD is extending a bullish rebound from the 1.3600 handle as the pair rises further from the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at 1.3551. However, the pair still remains down from the last major swing high into 1.2850 in mid-April.
USD/CAD hourly chart
USD/CAD daily chart
Economic Indicator
Retail Sales (MoM)
The Retail Sales data, released by the US Census Bureau on a monthly basis, measures the value in total receipts of retail and food stores in the United States. Monthly percent changes reflect the rate of changes in such sales. A stratified random sampling method is used to select approximately 4,800 retail and food services firms whose sales are then weighted and benchmarked to represent the complete universe of over three million retail and food services firms across the country. The data is adjusted for seasonal variations as well as holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes. Retail Sales data is widely followed as an indicator of consumer spending, which is a major driver of the US economy. Generally, a high reading is seen as bullish for the US Dollar (USD), while a low reading is seen as bearish.
Next release: Tue Jun 18, 2024 12:30
Frequency: Monthly
Consensus: –
Previous: 0%
Source: US Census Bureau
