Canadian Dollar Declines Against US Dollar on Weak Retail Sales Data

The  Canadian dollar today dropped to  new daily lows against its US counterpart following the  release of  weak Canadian retail sales data. The  loonie had made gains against the  greenback earlier today as  evidenced by  the  USD/CAD currency pair’s decline before retracing all of  its gains after the  release.
The  USD/CAD currency pair today dropped from an  opening high of  1.3357 to  a  low of  1.3301 before retracing all its losses in  the  American session.
The  loonie had started today’s session on  a  high note boosted by  an  improved market risk sentiment, which favored it versus the  safe haven greenback.   The  Canadian dollar was boosted by  rising oil prices as  tracked by  the  West Texas Intermediate, which hit a  high of  53.64 today, as  it recovered from yesterday’s 1.75% decline. Given that crude oil is Canada’s most important export, the  higher oil prices were a  boon to  the  loonie. Bank of  Canada Governor Stephen Poloz stated that the  BoC’s monetary policy decisions were based on  pertinent data given the  existing risks to  global trade, which reassured investors.
The  release of  Canada’s retail sales data for  November early in  the  American session triggered a  major pullback by  the  pair. According to  Statistics Canada, the  headline retail sales contracted by  0.9%, which was larger than the  expected 0.6% decline, while the  core retail sales figure contracted by  0.6% versus the  expected 0.4% drop.
The  currency pair’s short-term performance is likely to  be affected by  global crude oil prices and  geopolitical events that influence investor sentiment.
The  USD/CAD currency pair was trading at  1.3354 as  at  15:57 GMT having rallied from a  low of  1.3301. The  CAD/JPY currency pair was trading at  82.09 having dropped from a  high of  82.44.

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