Home Daily Commentaries Oil Trades at 2002 Lows, Loonie Falls

Oil Trades at 2002 Lows, Loonie Falls

Daily Currency Update

CAD - Canadian DollarCrude oil prices moved lower to start the week as global demand for the resource fell as the COVID-19 pandemic slows outlook. WTI crude was down 6.69 percent or $1.44 per barrel to $20.07 and has traded under the psychological support level of $20.00 per barrel levels not seen since 2002. Canadian equities were down in early trading to start the week and have reversed loss as the morning trade session picks up. The Canadian dollar has reversed it gains from Friday when it traded below 1.4000 and is now back up over 1.4135(0.7075).

Key Movers

U.S. household sentiment hit decade lows in March as COVID-19 cases in the U.S.A. pick up, triggering business closures and concerns about the future of the economy. The rating for current conditions also hit the lowest level since 2008, and a measure of the economic outlook hit its lowest level in more than three years, the University of Michigan data showed last Friday. This is a huge contrast from just a month earlier in which the strong job market and cheap fuel costs contributed to the second-highest sentiment reading since 2004. More than 3.3 million Americans filed a claim for unemployment benefits last week, a record high that offers the first nationwide picture of the damage to the U.S. economy from the coronavirus shutdown. It is by far the most considerable single-week rise in unemployment claims since the department began publishing records in 1967. The numbers are an early indicator of a drastic slowdown in the U.S. economy, which will no doubt see very dreary results in the next coming months.

Expected Ranges

  • USD/CAD: 1.3990 - 1.4189 ▲
  • EUR/CAD: 1.5532 - 1.5662 ▲
  • GBP/CAD: 1.7345 - 1.7612 ▲
  • AUD/CAD: 0.8584 - 0.8743 ▲
  • NZD/CAD: 0.8410 - 0.8533 ▲