Loonie Falls Against US Peer on Weak Oil Prices Despite Fed News Spike

The  Canadian dollar today spiked higher against the  US dollar after the  Federal Reserve announced massive quantitative easing measures causing the  greenback to  fall. The  USD/CAD currency pair fell briefly before recouping its losses and  heading higher as  the  dollar recovered and  the  Loonie was weighed down by  weak crude oil prices.
The  USD/CAD currency pair today fell to  a  low of  1.4335 in  the  early American session before reversing course and  rallying to  a  high of  1.4561 and  was near these highs at  the  time of  writing.
The  currency pair traded in  a  tight range earlier today as  crude oil prices remained depressed amid the  Saudi-Russia oil price war, which could bankrupt US Shale producers. The  ill-advised oil price war has led the  price of  a  barrel of  West Texas Intermediate (Canadian/US crude oil) to  fall to  a  low of  $20 on  Friday; the  index was trading between $21-$23 today. The  pair hit its daily lows despite the  release of  upbeat Canadian wholesale sales data for  January by  Statistics Canada. Wholesale sales grew 1.8% in  January beating analysts estimates pegged at  -0.2%. These figures will likely change as  the  impact of  the  coronavirus is felt across most countries globally.
The  lack of  releases from the  US docket saw the  pair spiked lower after the  massive stimulus measures announced by  Jerome Powell, the  Fed Chairman. The  proposals include offering loans to  businesses and  unlimited buying of  investment-grade corporate bonds.
The  currency pair’s future performance is likely to  be affected by  geopolitical events and  crude oil prices.
The  USD/CAD currency pair was trading at  1.4519 as  at  18:18 GMT having risen from a  low of  1.1335. The  CAD/JPY currency pair was trading at  76.70, having rallied from a  low of  75.98.

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