The US dollar was mostly unchanged against the Canadian dollar in today’s session despite a slight risk-off market undertone. As of 3:20 p.m., one US dollar bought 1.3304 Canadian dollars in London.
The greenback extended losses or was unchanged against other majors as well even as Trump comments increased trade concerns.
President Trump told reporters in London he would be willing to wait until after the 2020 election before arranging a trade deal with Beijing, signaling no urgency ahead of the December 15 “logical deadline”. The US government may impose additional tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese products starting that day.
After reaching an intraday high of 1.3283 against the US dollar, the Canadian dollar lost some ground ahead of tomorrow’s Bank of Canada policy decision.
Expectations of a rate cut have mostly receded as the housing market shows signs of a rebound and economic growth in Q3 remained within the BoC’s previous forecast of 1.3%. In addition, markets are pricing in a 20% chance of a rate cut in January — down from 30% previously.
Lower oil prices failed to put significant downward pressure on the loonie. Brent crude was down 0.92% to trade at $61.20 at the time of writing.
While the US dollar remains well supported around the 1.3270 level, the Canadian dollar doesn’t manage to hold much of a bit ahead of the BoC’s policy meeting.
The upper range resistance that aligns with the November 20 high of 1.3327 could provide some selling pressure, followed by the October highs around the mid 1.33s. The lower range support around 1.3270 will likely continue to support the pair in the short-term.