USD/CAD Price Forecast: Sets for fresh rally above 1.4080
- USD/CAD edges lower to near 1.4040, outlook remains bullish.
- The Fed is expected to cut interest rates two times more this year.
- Fed officials signaled cracks in the US labor market.
The USD/CAD pair ticks down to near 1.4040 on Wednesday. The Loonie pair is marginally down during the European trading session even as the US Dollar has declined, suggesting that the Canadian Dollar (CAD) is also weak.
During the press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades 0.2% lower to near 98.80.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the Australian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.17% | -0.28% | -0.24% | -0.06% | -0.50% | -0.04% | -0.10% | |
| EUR | 0.17% | -0.06% | -0.09% | 0.09% | -0.29% | 0.07% | 0.07% | |
| GBP | 0.28% | 0.06% | -0.02% | 0.19% | -0.23% | 0.13% | 0.18% | |
| JPY | 0.24% | 0.09% | 0.02% | 0.16% | -0.26% | 0.04% | 0.24% | |
| CAD | 0.06% | -0.09% | -0.19% | -0.16% | -0.45% | -0.06% | -0.01% | |
| AUD | 0.50% | 0.29% | 0.23% | 0.26% | 0.45% | 0.36% | 0.44% | |
| NZD | 0.04% | -0.07% | -0.13% | -0.04% | 0.06% | -0.36% | 0.05% | |
| CHF | 0.10% | -0.07% | -0.18% | -0.24% | 0.00% | -0.44% | -0.05% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
The US Dollar faces selling pressure as comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, have signaled cracks in the labor market.
On Tuesday, Fed’s Powell warned of softening job demand, with economic growth remaining somewhat higher than projected and inflation well above the desired 2% target.
“Economic activity data are surprising to the upside, creating some tension with the labour market data,” Powell said.
Deteriorating US labor market conditions have also bolstered wagers for more interest rate cuts by the Fed. According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders see a 94.6% that the Fed will reduce interest rates by 50 basis points (bps) to 3.50%-3.75% in the remaining year.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Dollar trades lower ahead of Canada’s Manufacturing Sales data for August, which will be published at 12:30 GMT.
USD/CAD trades inside Tuesday’s trading range around 1.4040. The near-term trend of the pair remains bullish as the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) slopes higher around 1.3950.
The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) oscillates in the 60.00-80.00 range, suggesting a strong bullish momentum.
Going forward, an upside move by the pair above the October 14 high of 1.4080 would open the door towards the April 8 low of 1.4144, followed by the April 9 high of 1.4274.
On the flip side, the asset could slide towards the round level of 1.3600 and June 16 low of 1.3540 if it breaks below the August 7 low of 1.3722.
USD/CAD daily chart
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US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
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