USD/CAD: Canadian Dollar Edges Lower

 | Oct 10, 2018 09:47

The Canadian dollar has edged lower in the Wednesday session. Currently, USD/CAD is trading at 1.2973, up 0.19% on the day. On the release front, Canadian Building Permits gained 0.4%, shy of the estimate of 0.5%. In the U.S., PPI and Core PPI both gained 0.2%, matching the estimate. These inflation readings were the strongest gains since June. Later in the day, the U.S. releases the Treasury Currency report, a semi-annual publication. On Thursday, the U.S. will release CPI reports and unemployment claims.

Will there be any surprises in the U.S. Treasury currency report? The report provides details of global exchange rate policies, as well as a list of countries that are deemed currency manipulators. In the April report, the U.S. did not name any of its major partners as currency manipulators. Since then, the Trump administration has imposed some $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. China has retaliated with its own tariffs on U.S. goods, and there has been speculation that China could respond to the U.S. tariffs by devaluating the Chinese yuan in order to bolster Chinese exports. In 2015 and 2016, the markets dropped sharply on fears that China would implement a major devaluation of its currency. Traders should treat the report as a market-mover.

With the U.S. economy continuing to post strong numbers, the Federal Reserve is on track to raise rates in December. This would be the fourth rate hike in 2018, and the markets are expecting three more hikes in 2019. Not surprisingly, this has put pressure on the Bank of Canada to raise rates as well. The Canadian economy is in good shape, but not nearly as strong as its southern neighbor. The Bank of Canada holds its next policy meeting on Oct. 24, and the strength of key Canadian releases will be a major factor as to whether policy-makers raise rates.

USD/CAD Fundamentals

Wednesday (October 10)

  • 8:30 Canadian Building Permits. Estimate 0.5%. Actual 0.4%
  • 8:30 US PPI. Estimate 0.2%. Actual 0.2%
  • 8:30 US Core PPI. Estimate 0.2%. Actual 0.2%
  • 10:00 US Final Wholesale Inventories. Estimate 0.8%
  • 13:01 US 10-year Bond Auction
  • Tentative – US Treasury Currency Report
  • 18:00 US FOMC Raphael Bostic Speaks

Thursday (October 11)

  • 8:30 US CPI. Estimate 0.2%
  • 8:30 US Core CPI. Estimate 0.2%
  • 8:30 US Unemployment Claims. Estimate 207K

*All release times are DST

*Key events are in bold

USD/CAD for Wednesday, October 10, 2018