- The Canadian Dollar threaded water to wrap up the trading week.
- Canadian labour and wage data barely moved the needle as investors focus on trade.
- US-China preliminary trade talks over the weekend will set the tone for next week.
The Canadian Dollar (CAD) flattened on Friday, sticking close to 1.3900 against the US Dollar (USD) as Loonie markets struggle to find a reason to move too far in either direction. Market sentiment is being entirely driven by upcoming trade talks between the US and China that have been set to begin in Switzerland this weekend.
Canadian labor and wages data came in mostly as expected on Friday. Canadian wage growth remains steady, and the Canadian economy added a few more jobs than expected in April. However, the Canadian Unemployment Rate ticked slightly higher, offsetting any upside from better-than-expected hiring.
Daily digest market movers: Canadian Dollar market moves very little as US trade dominates
- The Canadian Dollar eased lower against the Greenback this week, pushing USD/CAD back above 1.3900 before stalling out on Friday.
- Canadian Average Hourly Wages held steady at 3.5% YoY through April.
- Canadian Net Change in Employment beat forecasts in April, adding a net 7.4K new positions versus the forecast 2.5K. However, the figure still failed to claw back March’s steep decline of 32.6K.
- The Canadian Unemployment Rate also ticked higher in April, rising to 6.9% from 6.7%. Median market forecasts expected a rise to 6.8%.
- Coming up next week: Canadian economic data takes a backseat once again as US inflation data becomes the focus.
Canadian Dollar price forecast
A fresh bout of Loonie weakness this week kicked USD/CAD back into the high end, snapping a multi-week consolidation period and pushing bids back above 1.3900. The pair is now treading water near 1.3930, but continued bullish momentum will depend entirely on macroeconomic factors as markets wheel around ongoing trade tensions between the US and the rest of the world.
USD/CAD daily chart
