A US-Canadian ugly contest, Iranian oil and still no NAFTA
The US Dollar continued enjoying upside momentum early in the week, using Powell's no-news speech to extend its gains. Then came Trump's Iran decision. The US President decided to ditch the JCPOA, more commonly known as the Iran deal.
The abandoning and the accompanying sanctions helped oil prices extend their gains. At first, the news also triggered a risk-off sentiment that weighed on the loonie but the mood improved quickly, and the Canadian Dollar enjoyed rising oil prices. The USD/CAD moved away from 1.3000.
The pair got another kick down as US inflation missed expectationswith 2.1% on the core figure against 2.2% expected. The US Dollar rally ran into considerable trouble as this disappointment joined the unimpressive jobs report in the previous week.
But just as everything was going against the USD/CAD, also Canada had its share of weak data. helped oil prices extend their gains, worse than an increase of 17,400 that was on the cards. There were some silver linings: full-time employment was up and wages advanced by 3.3% YoY. Nevertheless, the USD/CAD made a last-minute recovery.
Canadian events: Inflation and Retail Sales
The first noteworthy Canadian indicator is due on Wednesday. Manufacturing shipments jumped back in February and may slide now. Lawrence Schembri, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, will give a speech on that day as well.
Thursday sees the ADP Employment Change report. Back in March, the firm showed an upbeat gain of 42,800 positions. Will it show better numbers than the official release also now? The BOC Review will shed some more light on the economy, yet it carries weight than the Bank's Business Survey.