Home Daily Commentaries The Loonie is falling due to the Coronavirus and the risk-off environment in the capital markets this morning.

The Loonie is falling due to the Coronavirus and the risk-off environment in the capital markets this morning.

Daily Currency Update

CAD - Canadian DollarThe Loonie is falling versus the Greenback (the USD/CAD is rising 0.4 percent) this morning. The Canadian economic data calendar is empty for today. The most critical release this week will be the FOMC rate decision in the US on Wednesday. The Loonie also trailed most peers, falling against the Euro by 0.28 percent and the Pound by 0.26 versus, as concern about the economic impact of the deadly Coronavirus continues to rattle markets. The Loonie is doing better though than the Aussie dollar by 0.57 percent, given the more direct effect of the virus in Australia. In general, the Loonie plunged in line with crude oil as market participants have become concerned that holiday travel in China will slow demand of crude.

Key Movers

Because of the Coronavirus, the USD/JPY pair is falling 0.33 percent this morning, trading at 108.91 at the moment. The Japanese Yen, the most popular “haven” currency, already increased versus the Aussie dollar, the Euro, and the U.S dollar this morning. The risk that market participants are not talking about is the implications of the Coronavirus on China and global growth. For now, the USD/CNH pair could especially be pressured to the upside (with the CNH -Chinese Yuan- going lower). Last Saturday, Chinese president Xi Jinping already expressed public worries about the risk of an accelerated spread of the illness. Cases have been reported in more than 12 countries so far and counting. The Aussie dollar is paying for the consequences of the Coronavirus because of geographical reasons. The AUD/USD pair is falling 0.86 percent at the time of this writing, trading at 0.6773.

Expected Ranges

  • USD/CAD: 1.3150 - 1.3200 ▲
  • EUR/CAD: 1.4517 - 1.4554 ▲
  • GBP/CAD: 1.7209 - 1.7307 ▲
  • AUD/CAD: 0.8905 - 0.8960 ▼
  • NZD/CAD: 0.8630 - 0.8655 ▼