Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Forex - USD/CAD Rises to 2-Week Highs after U.S. Data, Fed

Published 09/21/2017, 09:30 AM
Updated 09/21/2017, 09:30 AM
Greenback trades higher against loonie in early trade

Greenback trades higher against loonie in early trade

Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose to a two-week high against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, supported by upbeat U.S. data and news of a potential rate hike by the Federal Reserve by the end of the year, while lower oil prices weighed on demand for the commdity-related Canadian currency.

USD/CAD was up 0.20% at 1.2350 by 09:30 a.m. ET (13:30 GMT), its highest since September 6.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that initial jobless claims unexpectedly declined last week to hit 259,000.

A separate report showed that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area increased unexpectedly in September.

As expected, the Fed left interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.

However, the central bank indicated that one more interest rate hike is likely this year, even though it reduced its outlook for inflation this year from 1.7% to 1.5%, and from 2% to 1.9% in 2018.

The Fed also said it will begin to unwind its $4.5 trillion balance sheet in October. Most assets consist of the Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities the bank acquired under its quantitative easing program.

In Canada, official data on Thursday showed that wholesale sales increased 1.5% in July, compared to expectations for a 0.9% decline.

But the Canadian dollar's gains were capped as oil prices turned lower after Wednesday's disappointing U.S. crude inventories data and as traders remained cautious ahead of a highly-anticipated meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Friday.

The loonie was also lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD gaining 0.40% to 1.4713.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.