USD/CAD: Canadian Dollar Slips On Trump Comment Over China

 | May 23, 2018 09:09

The Canadian dollar has posted considerable losses in the Wednesday session. Currently, USD/CAD is trading at 1.2906, up 0.68% on the day. On the release front, there are no Canadian releases on the schedule. In the U.S., the key event is the Federal Reserve minutes from the May policy meeting. On Thursday, the U.S. will release unemployment claims and Existing Home Sales.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump sounded skeptical over progress in trade talks between the U.S. and China, saying he was ‘not really’ satisfied with the negotiations. Trump’s comments have confused the markets, as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared on the weekend that the trade spat was ‘on hold.’ The result? Asian and European stock markets are seeing red in the Wednesday session, as is the Canadian dollar. Investor risk appetite has also waned as there is uncertainty whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet with Trump next month. On Tuesday, Trump acknowledged that there was a ‘substantial’ chance that the summit planned with Kim in Singapore on June 12 would not take place.

The Federal Reserve will be in the spotlight on Wednesday, as analysts pore over the minutes of the May policy meeting. The Fed did not raise rates at the meeting, but a strong U.S. economy has raised expectations that the Fed will press the rate trigger in June – according to the CME Group (NASDAQ:CME), the odds of a June hike stand at 100%. The markets will be looking for some guidance from the May minutes, and if the message from Fed policy-makers is hawkish, traders can expect the U.S. dollar to post gains. On Monday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic sounded positive about the economy, saying the Fed’s employment and inflation goals were close to being met. The Fed expects growth to be around 2.5% in 2018, and inflation has been moving closer to the Fed target of 2.0%

USD/CAD Fundamentals

Wednesday (May 23)

  • 9:45 US Flash Manufacturing PMI. Estimate 56.6
  • 9:45 US Flash Services PMI. Estimate 54.9
  • 10:00 US Crude Oil Inventories. Estimate -2.5M
  • 14:00 US FOMC Meeting Minutes

Thursday (May 24)

  • 8:30 US Unemployment Claims. Estimate 220K
  • 10:00 US Existing Home Sales. Estimate 5.56M

*All release times are DST

*Key events are in bold

USD/CAD for Wednesday, May 23, 2018