USD/CAD: Canadian Dollar Jumps As Trump Press Conference Disappoints

 | Jan 12, 2017 08:08AM ET

The Canadian dollar has posted sharp losses in the Thursday session. Currently, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3050. On the release front, Canada releases NHPI, an important inflation indicator. In the US, today’s highlight is unemployment claims, with the indicator expected to rise to 266 thousand. We’ll also hear from two FOMC members – Charles Evans and Patrick Harker. Friday promises to be busy, with the US releasing retail sales and consumer confidence reports.

The dollar was broadly lower after Donald Trump’s press conference on Wednesday. The Canadian dollar took advantage and has hit a low of 1.3042 on Thursday, its lowest level since October 19. There was plenty of anticipation ahead of the press conference on Thursday, but the event quickly turned into a spectacle rather than a platform outlying the president-elect’s plans as president. The markets were hoping to hear some specifics about Trump’s economic policy, but the president-elect didn’t comply. Instead, Trump focused on attacking the media for releasing damaging material on him, and also presented his plan to avoid business conflicts while in office. The markets were clearly disappointed with the theatrics, sending the greenback lower.

During the recent presidential campaign, Trump had plenty to say about the ills of the US economy on the campaign trail, but was short on solutions. He has gone on record promising tax cuts and significant fiscal spending to repair the country’s infrastructure. This has led to expectations of reflation in the US, after years of low inflation levels. What does this mean for the currency markets? Lower taxes and higher spending (assuming both can be done simultaneously), would boost the US economy and raise inflation levels. This would likely lead to further rate hikes, which is bullish for the US dollar. The greenback has impressed since the US election, posting gains against most of its major rivals.

USD/CAD Fundamentals

Thursday (January 12)

  • 8:30 Canadian NHPI. Estimate 0.3%
  • 8:30 US Unemployment Claims. Estimate 266K
  • 8:30 US FOMC Member Charles Evans Speech
  • 8:30 US FOMC Member Patrick Harker Speech
  • 8:30 US Import Prices. Estimate 0.8%
  • 10:30 US Natural Gas Storage. Estimate -150B
  • 13:01 US 30-year Bond Auction
  • 14:00 US Federal Budget Balance. Estimate 21.0B
  • 18:50 Japanese M2 Money Stock. Estimate 4.1%
  • 19:00 Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen Speech

Friday (January 13)

  • 8:30 US Core Retail Sales. Estimate 0.5%
  • 8:30 US PPI. Estimate 0.1%
  • 8:30 US Retail Sales. Estimate 0.5%
  • 10:00 US Preliminary UoM Consumer Sentiment. Estimate 98.6
Get The News You Want
Read market moving news with a personalized feed of stocks you care about.
Get The App

*All release times are GMT

*Key events are in bold

USD/CAD for Thursday, January 12, 2017