Daily Currency Update
CAD - Canadian DollarThe Canadian dollar jumped today, keeping its strength against the US dollar after oil prices rallied yesterday and investors await the Fed’s statements today. The price of oil climbed yesterday as OPEC indicated it will stick to plans to raise output in 2021.Canadian retail sales rose 4.8% to $55.1 billion in February fuelled by autos, parts dealers and gasoline stations. Core retail sales, which don’t include gasoline stations, autos and parts dealers, also rose 3.8% — the first increase in three months according to Statistics Canada.
Key Movers
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's political troubles dominated proceedings around the pound yesterday. Johnson did no favors for the pound with his “let the bodies pile high” comment. Some are predicting this latest scandal will hinder the government's efforts to push the UK economy further despite the solid vaccination campaign so far. On the whole though the pound has been relatively insensitive to the political noise within the UK.. The pound is taking most of its direction this week from other currencies, and the Federal Reserve's meeting today could result in GBPUSD making a renewed drive for the 1.40 psychological level.Having touched intraday highs at 0.7805 early in the domestic session, the Australian dollar tracked steadily lower throughout Tuesday marking lows at 0.7760 despite a surge in key commodity prices.The US dollar enjoyed small gains against the yen yesterday following the Bank of Japan’s policy announcement. The BoJ opted to maintain the current policy setting and further downgraded its inflation forecast.
Expected Ranges
- EUR/CAD: 1.494 - 1.499 ▼
- GBP/CAD: 1.718 - 1.727 ▼
- AUD/CAD: 0.959 - 0.964 ▼
- USD/CAD: 1.238 - 1.241 ▼