The Canadian dollar traded around 1.27, not far from a 7-week high of 1.2625 hit on December 31st, amid higher oil prices and bond yields. Crude oil traded near $77 per barrel after OPEC+ agreed to maintain a steady pace in raising supply. Also, the Canadian bonds jumped to above 1.6% tracking the gains in the US Treasuries. Meanwhile, an improvement in traders' risk appetite also helped to sustain the loonie. Investors continued optimistic after studies showed that the Omicron variant is less severe than previous strains, albeit more infectious, gearing up them to bet that the recovery will not derail. A more robust economic recovery strengthens the appeal for higher rates from the BoC, which dashed investors’ expectations in its last meeting arguing that the new variant Omicron had raised uncertainty around the economic recovery. Canada's jobs report for December, due on Friday, could provide further clues on the strength of the domestic economy.
The Canadian Dollar is expected to trade at 1.30 by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 1.33 in 12 months time