Canadian Dollar outperforms its peers amid rallying oil prices
- Canadian Dollar rises against its currency peers as oil prices gain vertically.
- US President Trump says that the MoU with Iran is over.
- Investors await the FOMC Minutes and the Canadian employment data.
The Canadian Dollar (CAD) trades higher against its major currency peers, with USD/CAD sliding 0.26% to near 1.4160 during the European trading session on Wednesday. The CAD jumps as oil prices rally, following remarks from United States (US) President Donald Trump that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iran is over.
Canadian Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Canadian Dollar (CAD) against listed major currencies today. Canadian Dollar was the strongest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.02% | 0.08% | 0.23% | -0.24% | 0.06% | -0.41% | -0.05% | |
| EUR | -0.02% | 0.06% | 0.20% | -0.26% | 0.04% | -0.42% | -0.07% | |
| GBP | -0.08% | -0.06% | 0.13% | -0.32% | -0.03% | -0.48% | -0.15% | |
| JPY | -0.23% | -0.20% | -0.13% | -0.46% | -0.15% | -0.63% | -0.29% | |
| CAD | 0.24% | 0.26% | 0.32% | 0.46% | 0.30% | -0.18% | 0.17% | |
| AUD | -0.06% | -0.04% | 0.03% | 0.15% | -0.30% | -0.47% | -0.16% | |
| NZD | 0.41% | 0.42% | 0.48% | 0.63% | 0.18% | 0.47% | 0.33% | |
| CHF | 0.05% | 0.07% | 0.15% | 0.29% | -0.17% | 0.16% | -0.33% |
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 Canadian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent CAD (base)/USD (quote).
In European trade, the WTI Oil price is up over 2.23% to near $73.6, and is up over 7% so far this week. Higher oil prices improve the appeal of currencies from economies that are net oil exporters.
Going forward, the major trigger for the Canadian Dollar will be the labor market data for June, which will be released on Friday. The data is expected to show that the economy created 10K fresh jobs, significantly lower than 87.8K in May.
Broadly, surging oil prices have increased the appeal of safe-haven assets. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which gauges the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades almost flat around 101.00 after recovering early losses.
Meanwhile, investors await the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes of the June policy meeting, which will be published at 18:00 GMT. Market participants will pay close attention to the FOMC minutes to get fresh cues regarding the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy outlook.
Canadian Dollar FAQs
The key factors driving the Canadian Dollar (CAD) are the level of interest rates set by the Bank of Canada (BoC), the price of Oil, Canada’s largest export, the health of its economy, inflation and the Trade Balance, which is the difference between the value of Canada’s exports versus its imports. Other factors include market sentiment – whether investors are taking on more risky assets (risk-on) or seeking safe-havens (risk-off) – with risk-on being CAD-positive. As its largest trading partner, the health of the US economy is also a key factor influencing the Canadian Dollar.
The Bank of Canada (BoC) has a significant influence on the Canadian Dollar by setting the level of interest rates that banks can lend to one another. This influences the level of interest rates for everyone. The main goal of the BoC is to maintain inflation at 1-3% by adjusting interest rates up or down. Relatively higher interest rates tend to be positive for the CAD. The Bank of Canada can also use quantitative easing and tightening to influence credit conditions, with the former CAD-negative and the latter CAD-positive.
The price of Oil is a key factor impacting the value of the Canadian Dollar. Petroleum is Canada’s biggest export, so Oil price tends to have an immediate impact on the CAD value. Generally, if Oil price rises CAD also goes up, as aggregate demand for the currency increases. The opposite is the case if the price of Oil falls. Higher Oil prices also tend to result in a greater likelihood of a positive Trade Balance, which is also supportive of the CAD.
While inflation had always traditionally been thought of as a negative factor for a currency since it lowers the value of money, the opposite has actually been the case in modern times with the relaxation of cross-border capital controls. Higher inflation tends to lead central banks to put up interest rates which attracts more capital inflows from global investors seeking a lucrative place to keep their money. This increases demand for the local currency, which in Canada’s case is the Canadian Dollar.
Macroeconomic data releases gauge the health of the economy and can have an impact on the Canadian Dollar. Indicators such as GDP, Manufacturing and Services PMIs, employment, and consumer sentiment surveys can all influence the direction of the CAD. A strong economy is good for the Canadian Dollar. Not only does it attract more foreign investment but it may encourage the Bank of Canada to put up interest rates, leading to a stronger currency. If economic data is weak, however, the CAD is likely to fall.
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