Home Daily Commentaries CAD dips after lower-than-expected CPI data

CAD dips after lower-than-expected CPI data

Weston Blystone
Written by
Weston Blystone

Weston Blystone

OFXpert

At OFX, Weston collaborates closely with businesses, guiding them and providing invaluable insights into foreign exchange strategies to mitigate risk effectively.

| Tuesday 19 March, 2024

Daily Currency Update

The CAD dipped today following disappointing Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. Monthly CPI numbers were lower than expected at 0.3% versus the anticipated 0.6%. The yearly Median CPI, which shows the change in the median price of goods and services purchased by consumers year-over-year, was also lower than expected at 3.1% versus 3.3%. The yearly Trimmed CPI, which excludes the most volatile 40% of items, was lower than anticipated as well at 3.2% versus the expected 3.4%. This data caused the Loonie to decrease so far this morning and was down against most major currencies like the USD, AUD, EUR, and GBP. Oil was up this morning around 0.68% at 83.28.

Key Movers

The US Dollar Index (DXY) was up this morning around 0.46% to trade near 103.91 after positive economic data releases. Building Permits data for February was higher than expected at 1.52 million versus the expected of 1.5 million. Similarly, Housing Starts data, an annualized number of new residential buildings that began construction during the previous month, was also higher than expected at 1.52 million versus 1.43 million. Both encouraging data points helped push the USD upward ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision tomorrow. USD was up versus EUR, GBP, AUD, and CAD so far this morning.

In Eurozone news, the ZEW Economic Sentiment, which surveyed German institutional investors and analysts, came in higher than expected at 33.5 versus 25.4. The EUR was up against the CAD so far today, trading near 1.4757.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) monetary policy meeting last night concluded with a decision to set rates at a range of 0.00% to 0.10% to help reduce inflation. This is the first rate increase in rates from the BoJ in 17 years. The CAD was up versus the JPY this morning to trade in the 110.92 range.

In the UK, the GBP CPI data is set to be released tomorrow. Ahead of this key release, the CAD was down against the GBP to trade around 1.7271.

Expected Ranges

  • EUR/CAD: 1.4706 - 1.4779 ▲
  • GBP/CAD: 1.7198 - 1.7291 ▲
  • AUD/CAD: 0.8888 - 0.8945 ▼
  • USD/CAD: 1.3529 - 1.3613 ▲

Written by

Weston Blystone

OFXpert

Weston is on a mission to help people optimise their foreign exchange transfers. As Corporate Client Associate at OFX, he collaborates closely with businesses, guiding them and providing invaluable insights into foreign exchange strategies to mitigate risk effectively. Always eager to deepen his understanding and share his expertise with others, Weston finds great fulfilment in working with diverse individuals, nurturing their company's growth through tailored solutions.