USD/CAD falls to one-month lowThe Canadian dollar has extended its gains on Tuesday. In the European session, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3441, down 0.33%. Earlier in the day, the Canadian dollar strengthened and touched a low of 1.3436, its best showing since September 15th.
The Bank of Canada will be keeping close tabs on today's inflation report. CPI for August is expected to fall to 0.3% m/m, compared to 0.6% m/m in July. The core rate is also expected to ease to 0.3%, down from 0.5%. If the inflation readings decline as expected, it will provide support for the BoC to pause for a second straight time at the October meeting.
The BoC will release the minutes (Summary of Deliberations) of the September meeting on Wednesday. At the meeting, the BoC held the benchmark cash rate at 5.0%. Policy makers reiterated that they stood ready to continue to hike in order to bring inflation back down to the 2% target, saying they “remained concerned about the persistence” of underlying price pressures. I expect that the minutes will make further references to Canada's inflation rate.
The BoC's rate statement at the meeting noted that weaker demand and a concern about the lagging effect of previous hikes led to a decision to keep rates unchanged. Policy makers reiterated that would "continue to assess the dynamics of core inflation and the outlook for CPI”, which makes today's inflation release an important factor in the October rate decision.
USD/CAD is putting pressure on support at 1.3408. The next support line is 1.3323
1.3468 and 1.3553 are the next resistance lines
BOC
Canadian dollar steady ahead of jobs reportThe Canadian dollar is steady on Friday in what should be a busy day. In the European session, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3670, down 0.12%. Canada releases the August job report later today, with the markets braced for a decrease of 6,400 in employment.
The US dollar has been on a tear against the major currencies since mid-July. The Canadian dollar has slumped, losing about 450 basis points during that span. The Canadian economy hasn't been able to keep pace with its southern neighbor, and that was made painfully clear as GDP contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter, below expectations.
The deterioration in economic growth is a result of a weak global economy as well as the Bank of Canada's steep tightening cycle. After back-t0-back increases, the BoC opted to pause at this week's meeting and held the benchmark cash rate at 5.0%. Governor Macklem likes to use the term "conditional pause", which means that a break from rate hikes will depend on economic growth and inflation levels.
At this week's meeting, the BoC's rate statement was hawkish, warning that inflation was too high and not falling fast enough. This was a signal that the door remained open to interest rate increases. Macklem was more explicit on Thursday, stating that further rate hikes might be needed to lower inflation and warning that persistently high inflation would be worse than high borrowing costs.
The markets are more dovish about the BoC's rate path, given that the economy is cooling and the central bank will be wary about too much tightening which could tip the economy into a recession. The markets have priced in a 14% probability of a rate hike at the October meeting.
USD/CAD is testing resistance at 1.3657. The next resistance line is 1.3721
1.3573 and 1.3509 are providing support
USD/CAD rises to 22-week high, BoC decision loomsUSD/CAD is trading quietly in Europe at 1.3651, up 0.06%. I expect to see stronger movement in the North American session, with the Bank of Canada making its rate announcement and the US releasing the ISM Services PMI which is expected to show little change.
The Bank of Canada is virtually certain to hold rates at today's meeting, with just a 6% probability of a rate hike, according to the TMX Group. That would leave the benchmark cash rate at an even 5.0%.
BoC Governor Macklem would certainly like to call it quits on the central bank's aggressive tightening cycle and perhaps he can look for advice from his peers at the Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Both the US and Australian economies have seen inflation fall significantly, but Jerome Powell at the Fed and Peter Lowe at the RBA have sent the markets a hawkish message that inflation isn't beaten and the door is open for further rate hikes if necessary. The markets have taken a more dovish stance and are already looking ahead to possible rate cuts.
Macklem appears to face the same challenge of acknowledging that rate hikes have cooled the economy and curbed inflation while sounding credible about keeping open the option of further rate hikes. Last week's GDP report indicated that the economy contracted by 0.2%, compared to the BoC's forecast of 1.5% growth. The BoC has hiked repeatedly in order to lower inflation but there are concerns that the rate hikes in June and July may have tilted the risk toward a recession.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to pause at the September 20th meeting. The pause could signal that rates have finally peaked, although don't expect any Fed members to publicly state that the rate-tightening cycle is over.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Tuesday that the Fed can afford to “proceed carefully” with rate hikes, given that inflation has been falling, and if the downtrend continues, "we are in pretty good condition".
USD/CAD tested resistance at 1.3657 earlier. The next resistance line is 1.3721
1.3573 and 1.3509 are providing support
GBPCAD: Running out of steam, start of the reversal?In my opinion GBP is building up for a big fall this year, and it has to start with a lower high.
Oil prices are rising, and as much as the FED don't want this, it's happening, and this should be good for CAD.
I can see a rising wedge pattern, we can see spinning tops forming and it looks like we're running out of steam, I believe we'll initially fall back to the 1.7 support / round number.
I'm waiting for my entry, I expected GBP to fall before now, but the BoC unemployment news wasn't supportive last week.
USD/CAD shrugs after soft nonfarm payrollsThe Canadian dollar is showing limited movement on Friday. In the North American session, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3360, up 0.06%. Canadian and US job numbers were soft today, but the Canadian dollar's reaction has been muted.
After a stellar job report in June, the July numbers were dreadful. Canada's economy shed 6,400 jobs in July, compared to a 59, 900 gain in June. Full-time employment added a negligible 1,700 jobs, following a massive 109,600 in June. The unemployment rate ticked up to 5.5%, up from 5.4%.
Perhaps the most interesting data was wage growth, which jumped 5% y/y in June, climbing from 3.9% in May. The rise is indicative of a tight labour market and will complicate the Bank of Canada's fight to bring inflation down to the 2% target.
It was deja vous all over again, as nonfarm payrolls failed to follow the ADP employment report with a massive gain. In June, a huge ADP reading fuelled speculation that nonfarm payrolls would also surge, and the same happened this week. Both times, nonfarm payrolls headed lower, a reminder that ADP is not a reliable precursor to the nonfarm payrolls report.
July nonfarm payrolls dipped to 187,000, very close to June reading of 185,000 (downwardly revised from 209,000). This marks the lowest level since December 2020. The unemployment rate ticked lower to 3.5%, down from 3.6%. Wage growth stayed steady at 4.4%, above the consensus estimate of 4.2%.
What's interesting and perhaps frustrating for the Fed, is that the jobs report is sending contradictory signals about the strength of the labour market. Job growth is falling, but the unemployment rate has dropped and wage growth remains strong. With different metrics in the jobs report telling a different story, it will be difficult for the Fed to rely on this employment report as it determines its path for future rate decisions.
There is resistance at 1.3324 and 1.3394
1.3223 and 1.3182 are providing support
CADJPY: Resuming the uptrendI'm looking to buy again, I don't think we've seen the top, we're still miles off an ATH.
With JPY still weak, Oil strong (which gives CAD strength), and a bullish engulfing candle on the 4hr (and a pinbar almost complete) I think we've had a 50% retracement of the last impulse and now back up. It would be great for this 4hr candle to close above the previous with a green candle, but generally signs look like we have upward momentum to me.
I'm going to be careful around the previous high (109) and will likely TP to assess the situation, if we fail to break then I think we'll be heading down fast (I'm expecting JPY strength sometime soon)
USD/CAD slips after BoC rate hikeThe Canadian dollar has posted strong gains in Wednesday's North American session. In the North American session, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3146, down 0.63%. On the economic calendar, it has been a busy day, with the Bank of Canada raising interest rates and US inflation falling lower than expected.
The Bank of Canada raised rates by 0.25% on Wednesday, bringing the cash rate to 5.0%. The BoC has delivered 475 basis points in hikes since March 2022 and the aggressive tightening has sent inflation lower. Still, the BoC's rate statement noted that it remains concerned that progress towards the 2% target could stall and that it does not expect to hit the target before mid-2025. This can be considered a hawkish hike and the Canadian dollar has responded with strong gains on Wednesday.
Wednesday's US inflation report should please the Federal Reserve, which has circled high inflation has enemy number one. The June release showed headline inflation falling to 3.0%, down from 4.0% in May. This beat the consensus estimate of 3.1% and was the lowest level since March 2021. Even more importantly, the core rate fell from 5.3% to 4.8%, below the consensus estimate of 5.0%. On a monthly basis, both the headline and core rate came in at 0.2%, below the consensus estimate.
The inflation release was excellent news, but isn't expected to change the Fed's plans to raise rates at the July 27th meeting. The inflation data didn't change market pricing for the July meeting (92% chance of a hike), but did raise the chances of a September hike from 72% prior to the inflation release to 80% after the release.
Although the jobs report on Friday showed nonfarm payrolls declining considerably, wage growth was higher than expected and likely convinced the Fed to raise rates at the July meeting before taking a pause.
There is resistance at 1.3191 and 1.3289
1.3105 and 1.3049 are providing support
USD/CAD pares gains, Canadian inflation easesThe Canadian dollar is flat on Friday, trading at 1.3258 in the European session.
Canada releases GDP for May later on Friday. The consensus stands at 0.2% m/m, which translates into 2.4% annualized, a respectable gain. If the GDP report beats the consensus, the Canadian dollar could post gains.
Canada's economy showed strength in the first quarter, with a gain of 3.1%. This was higher than expected and was one reason cited by the Bank of Canada in its surprise decision to raise rates earlier this month. I would expect that GDP growth will again be a key factor when the BoC makes its rate decision at the July 12th meeting.
The BoC, like most other major central banks, has aggressively tackled high inflation by raising interest rates. The policy appears to be working, as headline inflation eased to 3.4% in May, down sharply from 4.4% in April. The core rate, which is comprised of three indicators, fell to an average of 3.8% in May, down from 4.2% a month earlier. The drop in inflation is certainly welcome news for the central bank, but the key question is whether inflation is falling fast enough for BoC policy makers.
A third factor in the BoC's decision-making process will be employment. Canada's labour market has shown strong resilience in the face of rising interest rates, although the economy shed jobs in May, after eight straight months of gains. Another decline in new jobs could dampen the Bank's appetite for a rate hike in July.
The US is coming off solid GDP and jobless claims data on Thursday and all eyes are on the Core PCE Price Index, the Fed's favourite inflation gauge. The index is expected to remain at 4.7% y/y, which would mean that inflation remains uncomfortably high compared to the target of 2%. We'll also get a look at UoM Consumer Sentiment, which is expected to rise to 63.9 in June, up from 59.2 in May.
USD/CAD is putting pressure on resistance at 1.3254. Next, there is resistance at 1.3328
1.3175 and 1.3066 are providing support
USD/CAD pares gains, Canadian inflation easesThe Canadian dollar spiked and gained 50 points after Canada released the May inflation report but has pared these gains. USD/CAD is unchanged at 1.3158.
Canada's inflation rate fell sharply in May to 3.4%, down from 4.4% in April. As expected, much of that decline was due to lower gasoline prices. Still, this is the lowest inflation rate since June 2021.The core rate, which is comprised of three indicators, fell to an average of 3.8% in May, down from 4.2% a month earlier.
The decline should please policy makers at the Bank of Canada, as inflation slowly but surely moves closer to the 2% target. The BoC cited the surprise upswing in inflation in April as one reason for its decision to hike rates earlier this month. With headline and core inflation falling in May, will that be enough to prevent another rate increase in July? Not so fast. The BoC has said its rate decisions will be data-dependent, and there is the GDP on Friday and employment next week, both of which will factor in the rate decision.
The US released a host of releases today, giving the markets plenty to digest. Durable Goods Orders jumped 1.7% in June, up from an upwardly revised 1.2% in May and crushing the consensus of -1%. The core rate rebounded with a 0.6% gain, up from -0.6% and above the consensus of -0.1%. Later today, the US publishes the Conference Board Consumer Confidence and New Home Sales.
Wednesday is a light day on the data calendar, with the Fed will in the spotlight. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will participate in a "policy panel" at the ECB Banking Forum in Sintra, Portugal, and investors will be looking for some insights into Fed rate policy. As well, the Fed releases its annual "stress tests" for major lenders, which assess the ability of lenders to survive a severe economic crisis. The stress tests will attract more attention than in previous years, due to the recent banking crisis which saw Silicon Valley Bank and two other banks collapse.
There is resistance at 1.3197 and 1.3254
1.3123 and 1.3066 are providing support
USD/CAD- Canadian dollar extends gains despite weak job dataThe Canadian dollar continues to rally. USD/CAD is trading at 1.3328 in the North American session, down 0.22% on the day.
The week wrapped up with Canada's May employment report, which usually is released at the same time as the US job data, but had the spotlight to itself today. The data was a disappointment. Canada's economy shed 17,300 jobs, all of which were full-time positions. This followed an increase of 41,400 in April and missed the consensus of a gain of 23,200. The unemployment rate rose from 5.0% to 5.2%, the first rise since August 2022.
The weak job numbers could signal softness in the labour market, which would have major ramifications for the Bank of Canada's rate path. The Canadian dollar lost 40 points in the aftermath of the release but quickly recovered these losses. We could see more movement from USD/CAD on Monday as the markets digest these numbers.
The US labour market has shown resilience, as we saw last week with a red-hot nonfarm payroll report. Still, some cracks have appeared, such as the jump in the unemployment rate and a low participation rate. The markets are looking for signs that the labour market is cooling off and jumped all over unemployment claims, which surprised on the upside at 261,000, up from 233,000 a week earlier.
A spike in one weekly report isn't all that significant, but the timing of the release close to the Fed meeting may make a Fed pause more likely, and that has sent the US dollar lower against its major rivals.
Central banks continue to wrestle with high inflation, which has remained stubbornly high despite aggressive rate tightening. This week alone, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Bank of Canada raised rates by 0.25%, surprising the markets which had expected a pause.
The BoC has made clear that its "conditional pause" stance would be data-dependent and perhaps the markets should have paid more attention to the uptick in April inflation and strong GDP growth in the first quarter. The BoC highlighted both of these indicators in its rate statement as factors in its decision to hike rates, and the central bank will be keeping a close eye on economic growth and inflation ahead of the July meeting.
USD/CAD is testing support at 1.3339. Below, there is support at 1.3250
1.3496 and 1.3585 are the next resistance lines
Bullflag resting on band with tight invalidationPretty simple play here. USDCAD tightly coiling up since Sept 2022. Higher lows. Looks like it wants to explode, even a surprise rate hike by the Bank of Canada wasn't enough to sweep the lows. Tight invalidation. US trudging ahead with rate hikes while the market is in disbelief and calling J Powell's bluff. But he's not bluffing. Canada has the bubbliest mortgage market on the planet. They won't be able to follow the US fed lest they ruin a generation of boomers' home equity and retirement.
CAD is clown currency. USD is King.
1.45 first target
Canadian dollar calm ahead of BoC rate announcementThe Canadian dollar is unchanged, trading at 1.3400 in the North American session.
The Bank of Canada meets later today, and the money markets are expecting another pause, which would leave the benchmark rate at 4.5%. The BoC's rate-tightening cycle has been on a "conditional pause", which is another way of saying that rate decisions are data-dependent, especially on inflation and employment reports.
The Bank has kept rates on hold since March and is expected to follow suit today, but there have been signals that the rate-hike cycle may not be over. First, April inflation report surprised on the upside after it ticked upwards to 4.4%, up from 4.3% annually, and rose from 0.3% to 0.7% month-to-month. The upswing will be of concern to BoC policy makers, as the central bank is intent on wrestling inflation back to the 2% target.
The second concern is GDP, which hit 3.1% y/y in the first quarter, beating the BoC's forecast of 2.3% growth. Consumer spending has been stronger than anticipated, as many households have sizeable savings from the pandemic which they are spending now that the economy has reopened. BoC policy makers are concerned about the rise in inflation and GDP, and we could see hints about future rate hikes even if the Bank opts to pause at today's meeting.
The Fed meets next week and with a blackout period in place on Fed public engagements, the markets are hunting for clues. Market pricing has been on a roller-coaster as divisions within the Fed over rate policy have made it difficult to determine what the Fed has planned. Currently, the markets are predicting a 78% chance of a pause, which would mark the first hold in rates after 10 straight rate increases.
1.3375 is a weak support line, followed by 1.3250
1.3496 and 1.3585 are the next resistance lines
Bank of Canada Interest Rate DecisionThe USDCAD traded lower, since the start of June, reversing from the 1.3650 price level, now hovering along the 1.34 price level.
Over the last couple of days, the USDCAD had been in a narrow downward range.
The Bank of Canada (BoC) is due to announce its interest rate decision. With the current rates at 4.50%, there has been speculation that a surprise rate hike could be decided (similar to what happened with the RBA and the AUDUSD).
However, I think that the data might not support such a surprise, with the BoC likely to maintain its current interest rate level.
This is likely to cause the USDCAD to trade higher, from this current area of 1.34 toward the immediate resistance level of 1.35.
Looking at USD/CAD ahead of BOC rate decisionDisclaimer:
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USDCAD Potential Forecast | 7th June 2023 Fundamental Backdrop
BOC monetary policy statement today, expected to maintain.
Potential bearish pressure coming into USDCAD if BOC hikes.
Technical Confluences
Near term resistance level at 1.36374.
Near term support level 1.33166.
Idea
We believe that the BOC will maintain interest rates and this will solidify the notion that USDCAD will remain in a range-bound market.
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AUDCAD LongsI'm liking AUDCAD longs for a few reasons. Technical wise we have broken structure and we have a fib at the 61.8 from the swing high to swing low.. Looking at everything from a fundamental standpoint, there is a lot of optimism around the Aussie gaining strength from China reopenings, as well as a Hawkish RBA. Canada on the other hand has decided to pause rates and might continue to do so if the BoC see that inflation is starting to decelerate as well. This trade might take some time as most aussie pairs are slower but overall I like this trade.
USDCAD, post BoC & PPI data releaseFundamental Analysis
Key points:
For the fourth day in a row, USD/CAD has been under some selling pressure on Thursday.
The USD is under pressure as a result of expectations for a pause in the Fed's rate-hike program.
Despite expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) is nearing the end of its rate-hiking cycle and turns out to be a key factor exerting pressure on the USD/CAD pair, selling of the US Dollar (USD) continues incessantly for the third consecutive day. In point of fact, the markets appear to be convinced that the US central bank will stop tightening its monetary policy after one more hike next month, as evidenced by the lower-than-expected US Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers released earlier today, Thursday 13th April 2023.
Technical Analysis
From a Technical Analysis standpoint, this is actually a follow-up from our initial bearish analysis that we shared on Friday 24 March (please see link at bottom of this analysis), since then price has been dropping (first top black arrow) from $1.38000 price level. Subsequently we shared another two updates on March 30th and April 3rd, explaining that we were anticipated a pullback and further drop from $1.35555 level (2nd lower black arrow), for more details, please feel free to go back and review those analysis. Since all that time our target was and still is the $1.31200 price zone as shown on weekly chart of the 30th March update.
So now, Price is coming to a zone from where it is likely to bounce off from and make another pullback, before moving down again. That pullback maybe deeper than expected, and we also don’t negate the fact that price may very well go through this level and if so that we should expect a bigger reaction from $1.33000 price level (see projections on chart). All in all, we believe USD/CAD is still bearish regardless if makes a pullback or creates some range in between.
US CPI and BoC Rate Today!A 6 day up move was broken yesterday with the Dollar falling below local support at 1.34900. The losses have continued today, however price looks to be holding as the market awaits the CPI and BoC rate news at 1:30pm and 3:00pm respectively. The Bloomberg's survey median forecast calls for a 0.4% increase in the core rate which if correct would lead to the expectation of a Fed hike once more this year.
From a technical perspective the key levels to watch are 1.35600 and 1.34100, which is the top and bottom of the 6 day move. Looking back at recent CPI releases, the reaction has been relatively muted if there isn't a big surprise. However if the data does surprise a 100 pip move isn't uncommon.
CADJPY Seen In A Fifth Wave-Time For A Rally? With crude trading at support, with inflation in Japan coming down to 3.3%, with XXX/JPY pairs seen in oversold/extended structures, with a wedge on USDJPY, with five waves down on CADJPY I think it can be time for some recovery. Stocks also hold support for now.
USDCAD Outlook 21 March 2023The USDCAD traded lower through the trading session yesterday as the DXY continued to weaken. The price reversed from the 1.3745 resistance level, down toward the key support level of 1.3650.
Today, the Canadian CPI is due to be released and is expected to indicate a slowdown in overall inflation growth with the Median CPI y/y (Forecast: 4.8% Previous: 5.0%) and the Trimmed CPI y/y (Forecast: 4.9% Previous: 5.1%).
Recently the Bank of Canada paused on its rate hikes, to allow time for the effects of the previous rate hikes to be reflected.
A slowdown in inflation growth would be supportive of their recent decision to pause and could reinforce a continuation of the decision. This could result in some strengthening of the Canadian dollar.
The USDCAD is likely to retrace to test the 1.37 round number level and 50% Fibonacci retracement level. However, if the USDCAD breaks below 1.3650, the next key support level would be at 1.3560.
USDCAD Outlook 9th March 2023Overnight, the Bank of Canada (BoC) released its decision to hold interest rates at the 4.50% level. This was in line with the overall market forecast.
However, the decision to hold rates saw the Canadian Dollar weaken (while the DXY remained on its bullish uptrend), resulting in the USDCAD claiming new highs, testing the 1.38 resistance area.
If the DXY gains further strength and breaks out to the upside, the USDCAD could first retrace briefly to test the upward trendline, before continuing to climb higher, with the next key resistance level at 1.39.
Alternatively, if the price action develops to signal a rejection of the 1.38 resistance level, the price could retrace down to the intermediate support level of 1.3740.