Canadian Dollar Mixed amid Clashing Fundamentals

The Canadian dollar was mixed today, rising against some currencies and falling versus others. The possible reason for that were clashing fundamentals, which did not provide a clear direction to the loonie.
Statistics Canada reported that the trade balance deficit widened from C$2.9 billion in February to C$4.1 billion in March. That is instead of shrinking to C$2.3 billion as economists had predicted. Looking deeper into the report, the situation did not seem to be that bad. The gap was the result of surging imports, but exports also rose at a healthy pace, albeit slower than imports.
Crude oil, Canada’s major export commodity, gained today. Crude was very strong this year, getting support from the deal to curb oil production between the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as its allies. Lately, oil got another supportive factor — the threat of the United States reinstalling sanctions on Iran for the Iranian nuclear program.
USD/CAD declined from 1.2883 to 1.2856 as of 19:55 GMT today. EUR/CAD traded at 1.5413 after opening at 1.5395. CAD/JPY slid from 85.25 to 84.92.

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