The ‘Loonie’ has fluctuated against main currency rivals the Pound and US Dollar over the course of trade as a result of influential economic news from Canada, the UK and the US.
The Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate was in the region of 0.6325 against the British Pound as of 15:30 GMT
As the local session began the Canadian Dollar was able to recoup recent losses against the US Dollar and limit declines against the Pound as a result of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s ambiguous address.
Although economists had hoped that Bernanke would issue some more specific comments regarding a potential timeline for reining in US quantitative easing, he was frustratingly vague.
Bernanke stated: ‘If the outlook for employment were to become relatively less favourable, if inflation did not appear to be moving back toward 2 per cent, or if financial conditions – which have tightened recently – were judged to be insufficiently accommodative to allow us to attain our mandated objectives, the current pace of purchases could be maintained for longer’.
While this was ever-so-slightly more hawkish than previous comments, it was not the clarification many were hoping for and the US Dollar broadly declined as a result. The ‘Greenback’ was also adversely affected by the news that US housing starts unexpectedly dropped by 9.9 per cent, hitting a 12-month low and defying expectations for an increase of 5 per cent.
As market analyst Joe Manimbo noted: ‘He injected uncertainty into the markets that are tempering the recent bullishness in the US Dollar, and that view is supportive of Canada’s currency.’ When asked about the BOC rate announcement Manimbo commented: ‘We’ll have to see whether or not [BOC Governor Stephen Poloz] toes that subtle hawkish stance.’
Earlier in the European session the Canadian Dollar fell against a broadly strengthening British Pound. Sterling was able to advance on its peers as a result of minutes from the Bank of England’s latest policy meeting.
The CAD/GBP exchange rate hit a low of 0.6293
The majority of economists forecast that Poloz would adopt a similar policy stance to that of his predecessor Carney at today’s BOC rate decision.
As expected, Poloz held the main interest rate at its previous level. However, the Bank of Canada’s national growth forecast for the year was raised to 1.8 per cent from April’s 1.5 per cent prediction.
The central bank also issued this comment: ‘As long as there is significant slack in the Canadian economy, the inflation outlook remains muted, and imbalances in the household sector continue to evolve constructively, the considerable monetary policy stimulus currently in place will remain appropriate. Over time, as the normalisation of these conditions unfolds, a gradual normalization of policy interest rates can also be expected.’
In the aftermath of the BOC rate decision the Canadian Dollar experienced modest volatility, extending declines against the Pound and pairing its earlier advance on the US Dollar.
Current Canadian Dollar (CAD) Exchange Rates
< Down > Up – Little Changed
The Canadian Dollar/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.9620 <
The Canadian Dollar /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7319 <
The Canadian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6325 <
The Canadian Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0399 <
The Canadian Dollar /New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.2206 <
The Pound Sterling/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5803 >
The US Dollar/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0374 >
The Euro/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3663 >
The New Zealand Dollar/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8157 <
The Australian Dollar/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.9612 >
(Correct as of 15:30 GMT)
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