CAD slumps on new COVID variant concerns
Daily Currency Update
CAD - Canadian Dollar
Demand for the Canadian dollar hit two-month lows against the US dollar on Friday after oil prices fell following reports of a new COVID-19 variant. USDCAD was up 0.98%, trading around 1.2770 at the time of writing.
Oil prices tumbled after South Africa identified a new coronavirus variant with early comments coming in that it may be more transmissible than Delta. The European Union proposed a travel suspension from the area which contributed to the selloff in oil prices.
Key Movers
The euro climbed against the US dollar on Friday, rising above 1.30 as investors paid close attention to headlines around the new COVID-19 variant from South Africa. The EU’s proposed travel suspension added to concerns over the global economic recovery.The pound on the other hand weakened against the dollar, briefly dipping below 1.33 for the first time since December 2020 before recovering back above that level. GBPUSD was sitting around 1.3314 at the time of writing.
The Australian dollar took a hammering versus the US dollar on Friday morning on the back of the new COVID-19 variant reports. AUDUSD was down 0.93% at around 0.71212 at the time of writing.
Expected Ranges
- EUR/CAD: 1.4174 - 1.448 ▲
- GBP/CAD: 1.6845 - 1.7066 ▲
- AUD/CAD: 0.9071 - 0.9131 ▼
- USD/CAD: 1.2648 - 1.2797 ▲