GBP/CAD is starting the week on a bullish note, though it updated the monthly low in the morning.
Currently, the pair is trading at 1.7183, up 0.17% as of 11:40 AM UTC. The price touched the daily low at 1.7114, which coincides with the lowest level since January 28. Despite the bullish move, the pair is still moving inside a bearish channel that formed at the start of the month.
GBP/CAD trying to balance the market’s overreactions of last week
There are no major fundamentals behind today’s move, which is why the pair is behaving confusedly, trying to balance the market’s overreactions of last week. Particularly, the pound was the worst-performing currency among majors, and investors try to recover the damage. Tomorrow, the UK will release preliminary data for its gross domestic product (GDP) growth in monthly and quarterly terms, which will decide the sterling’s next stop.
Besides a poor performing pound, the Loonie surged on Friday on Statistics Canada’s report that the country had added twice the number of jobs anticipated last month, which might convince the Bank of Canada to ignore any interest rate cut thought in March.
CAD surges as unemployment rate drops to 5.5%
Canada’s economy added 34,500 jobs in January, the second consecutive month of gains after a record decline in November. The unemployment rate dropped close to a record low at 5.5%.
After the CAD’s surge against the sterling, the market is trying to stabilize, hence the temporary bullishness in the GBP/CAD pair.
While there are no major economic updates scheduled for today, the markets are fervently discussing the coronavirus outbreak in China and worldwide. So far, the new strain of the virus has killed over 900 people, most of them in mainland China.
Earlier today, the UK government announced that the number of confirmed cases had increased from four to eight. The government called the virus an imminent threat.
Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said:
“Four further patients in England have tested positive for novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to eight.”
The new cases were in close contact with the first confirmed British patient who contracted the virus in France.