Canadian Dollar
Volatile Markets
April 25, 2017
In the aftermath of the French election and with the risk of a partial U.S. government shutdown still looming, big market moves continued on Tuesday. Better-than-expected U.S. corporate earnings reports from the likes of Caterpillar are extending the U.S. stock market rally. Equities in Asia closed up 1.4% in Hong Kong, 1.3% in Taiwan, 1.1% […] More
Dollar Emerges Strong after Two Mistrusted Deals
July 16, 2015
The first of two agreements reached this week pitted the Greek people against the country’s creditors. It avoided the feared precedent of a member leaving the currency union but did so at enormous cost to the euro’s reputation. To Greece’s partners, the struggle ended with victory for the principle that rules governing common currency area […] More
Currency Reflections on a Wintry Day
January 23, 2014
Optimism about U.S. growth prospects continues to mount, and many currency watchers have been awaiting just such a sign as the needed catalyst for a significant rise in the dollar against its main rival, the euro. Canadian monetary officials just raised their projected 2014 U.S. growth rate by a half percentage point to 3.0%. That […] More
Weaker Canadian, Australian and U.S. Dollars
January 23, 2014
The U.S. dollar rose overnight by 1.0% against the Aussie currency and 0.6% versus the loonie but is down 0.9% relative to the Swiss franc, 0.3% against the yen and euro and 0.1 vis-a-vis sterling. The kiwi dipped 0.1%, and the yuan is steady. Preliminary euro area purchasing manager January survey results are somewhat better […] More
Currencies Remain Mostly Calm Ahead of the U.S. Fiscal Waterfall
November 30, 2012
Net movement in the currencies of major advanced economies have been comparatively small during the second half of 2012. The yen has exhibited the greatest weakness, a slide of 3.2% against the dollar, but virtually all that loss occurred within the past month. The U.S. currency otherwise has depreciated 2.5% or less against the euro, […] More
Unlikely to Stop the Risk Aversion Express
September 23, 2011
Risk aversion, which benefits the dollar and yen, has taken hold of all financial markets, and confidence-boosting factors are nowhere in sight. First, the economic backdrop among advanced industrialized nations recently began a fifth year of bleakness. Substantial balance sheet deleveraging remains to be done, and these economies still cannot sustain recoveries without macroeconomic support. […] More
Canada Experiencing Higher Inflation But Softer Growth
June 30, 2011
May consumer price data released yesterday revealed an acceleration of inflation to a 12-month increase of 3.7%, up from 3.3% in April and the most since March of 2003. The annualized increase of the seasonally adjusted total consumer price series between December and May was also 3.7%. A 2.4% December 2010 versus December 2009 increase […] More
Can a Dollar Floor Be Found Soon?
October 22, 2010
Last week was just full of surprises. Monetary policies around the world became more diversified. A tightening interest rate cycle began in China, and ECB officials showed more willingness to scale back unconventional measures. Other central banks, for example those in Canada and Brazil, put rate normalization programs on pause, and a third group including […] More
Ride the Roller Coaster at Your Own Risk
October 1, 2010
The roller coaster metaphor describes currency market conditions since late spring very aptly. The ride starts and ends about the same place. But in between, one travels all over the place at dizzying speed, absorbing thrills and chills and winding up queasy for the effort. The ride is mindless fun and doesn’t enhance the public […] More
A Lack of Confidence in Just about Everything
July 16, 2010
Investors have turned skittish. One sees this in wildly volatile stock prices – perhaps a sign of the summer season – but also in a sub-0.60% two-year Treasury yield and a 1.10% ten-year JGB yield. The resurgence of risk aversion ought to lend the dollar support, but the currency instead experienced a difficult week. That […] More
