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Canadian Dollar recovery loses steam with the US Dollar consolidating near recent highs

  • Canadian Dollar is practically flat on the daily chart with the USD ready near recent highs..
  • BoC Rogers’ warnings about the country’s low productivity have weighed on the Loonie.
  • The EIA has reported an unexpected increase on US Crude Oil stocks last week.

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) is trading back and forth, without a clear direction in Wednesday’s US trading session, with the US Dollar having the upper hand on thin trading ahead of the Easter Holiday.

The Loonie opened the day on its back foot, following comments from the Bank Of Canada’s Senior Deputy Governor, Carolyn Rogers, complaining about the low productivity and poor levels of investment. The CAD, however, managed to pare some losses later on although the unexpected increase in US Crude stockpiles reported by the Energy Information Agency has added weight to the commodity-linked CAD.

In the absence of first-tier macroeconomic releases today, the focus is on Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who is expected to speak about monetary policy at the Economic Club of New York later on Wednesday.

Daily digest market movers: The USD/CAD treads water with investors awaiting US PCE Inflation data

  • The Canadian Dollar is moving sideways with the US Dollar nudging higher in a quiet trading session.
     
  • EIA Crude Oil stocks increased by 3,165 million Barrels in the week of March 22 against market expectations of a decline of above 1,275 million Barrels.
     
  • Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Rogers has warned that low productivity is going to be a hindrance to economic growth.
     
  • On Tuesday, US macroeconomic releases showed mixed figures, with Durable Goods Orders increasing beyond expectations while the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence contracted unexpectedly.
     
  • According to the CME Group FedWatch Tool, markets are pricing more than a 60% chance that the Federal Reserve will start cutting rates in June, which is keeping USD bulls in check.
     
  • The highlight of the week will be the US PCE Prices Index, the Fed’s inflation gauge of choice, which is expected to have accelerated at a 2.5% yearly pace in February from 2.4% in the previous month.
     
  • The core PCE Prices Index is expected to have risen at a 2.8% yearly pace and 0.4% on the monthly rate in February, from 2.8% and 0.3%, respectively, in January.

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 Japanese Yen.

  USD EUR GBP CAD AUD JPY NZD CHF
USD   0.12% 0.01% 0.04% 0.22% -0.09% 0.16% 0.24%
EUR -0.10%   -0.11% -0.05% 0.12% -0.13% 0.07% 0.14%
GBP -0.01% 0.10%   0.03% 0.21% -0.02% 0.15% 0.22%
CAD -0.05% 0.08% -0.02%   0.18% -0.08% 0.13% 0.20%
AUD -0.22% -0.10% -0.21% -0.19%   -0.32% -0.05% 0.01%
JPY 0.09% 0.21% 0.10% 0.13% 0.30%   0.19% 0.28%
NZD -0.15% -0.04% -0.19% -0.12% 0.06% -0.22%   0.08%
CHF -0.23% -0.12% -0.23% -0.20% -0.01% -0.27% -0.07%  

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 Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).

USD/CAD 4-Hour Chart

All in all, the Canadian Dollar remains biased higher, but it seems to need an extra boost to break above recent highs. The US PCE Prices Index and Fed Powell’s comments are due on Good Friday, and the low trading volumes might boost the impact of these events.