empty
30.04.2025 01:09 PM
Canadian Dollar Preparing for a Breakout

Retail sales in Canada fell by 0.4% month-over-month in February but rebounded in March with a strong increase of 0.7%. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales declined to 4.7% in February, down from a revised 5.3% in January.

Retail sales in Canada fell by 0.4% month-over-month in February but rebounded in March with a strong increase of 0.7%. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales declined to 4.7% in February, down from a revised 5.3% in January. One of the drivers of increased spending was concern over new U.S. tariffs, which prompted consumers to stock up in advance—therefore, spending is likely to show a decline going forward.

This image is no longer relevant

Today, GDP data for Canada covering February and March will be published, though it is unlikely to have a significant market impact. Instead, the market will be watching the release of the initial U.S. GDP estimate with much greater interest, followed by the U.S. jobs report on Friday. Canada's GDP showed steady growth throughout 2024, but the uncertainty that emerged after the onset of trade wars could erase all the gains.

Even a slight slowdown in Canadian GDP growth may turn out to be inconsequential, as the first estimate of U.S. Q1 GDP—due today—could show a much worse result. If pessimistic expectations are confirmed, a spike in volatility is inevitable and will likely lead to another wave of U.S. dollar selling.

Canada has held its federal elections, with Liberal leader Mark Carney winning by a narrow margin, as expected. Carney previously served as Governor of both the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada. He is considered a political heavyweight, and his main task is believed to be helping Canada withstand pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. "America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country," Carney said in his victory speech. "These are not empty threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never, ever happen."

The loonie barely reacted to the election results but is expected to respond to Carney's subsequent actions. Since he won by a narrow margin, he will be forced to form a minority government, which is likely to put some pressure on the CAD. However, a large-scale sell-off of the Canadian dollar seems unlikely at this stage.

The Bank of Canada will hold its next meeting on June 4, which leaves ample time to assess both Carney's initial steps and the overall state of the economy. At its last meeting, the BoC kept the rate unchanged at 2.75%, and if incoming data proves weak, further rate cuts may follow, putting additional pressure on the Canadian dollar.

The net short position on the CAD dropped by a notable $1.15 billion over the reporting week, to –$4.86 billion. The reduction has been particularly pronounced over the past two weeks, and while speculative positioning still favors the U.S. dollar, the fair value has finally diverged from the long-term average with a clear intention to move lower.

This image is no longer relevant

We expect USD/CAD to move lower from current levels toward the 1.3410–1.3430 range. The pair spent the past week in consolidation, but a likely upward correction following a fairly strong decline never occurred, meaning the risk of a corrective bounce remains. The strong resistance zone at 1.4130–1.4160 is unlikely to be reached—resuming the downtrend would require a strong catalyst, which could arrive today following the release of a broad set of U.S. economic statistics.

Kuvat Raharjo,
Analytical expert of InstaForex
© 2007-2025
Select timeframe
5
min
15
min
30
min
1
hour
4
hours
1
day
1
week
Earn on cryptocurrency rate changes with InstaForex
Download MetaTrader 4 and open your first trade
  • Grand Choice
    Contest by
    InstaForex
    InstaForex always strives to help you
    fulfill your biggest dreams.
    JOIN CONTEST

Recommended Stories

USD/CAD. Analysis and Forecast

The USD/CAD pair is showing a modest recovery from levels below 1.3600, retracing most of the previous day's losses, supported by a rebound in the U.S. dollar. In addition, concerns

Irina Yanina 13:09 2025-06-13 UTC+2

AUD/JPY. Analysis and Forecast

The AUD/JPY pair has been under selling pressure for the third consecutive day, reaching an almost two-week low around 92.30 during Friday's Asian session. After a sharp drop, spot prices

Irina Yanina 12:53 2025-06-13 UTC+2

Israeli Missile Strike on Iran Will Crash Global Markets (I Expect Bitcoin and #NDX to Resume Their Decline After a Local Upward Correction)

As I anticipated, the lack of a broad positive outcome in negotiations between China and the U.S. and renewed inflationary pressure led to a sharp decline in demand for corporate

Pati Gani 10:10 2025-06-13 UTC+2

Greed Will Do the Market No Good

The less you know, the better you sleep. Encouraged by a 21% rally in the S&P 500 from its April lows, the crowd continues to buy the dip—completely unbothered

Marek Petkovich 09:35 2025-06-13 UTC+2

What to Pay Attention to on June 13? A Breakdown of Fundamental Events for Beginners

Several macroeconomic reports are scheduled for Friday, but we doubt that the data will significantly impact traders today—especially today. As a reminder, Donald Trump intends to raise tariffs

Paolo Greco 07:16 2025-06-13 UTC+2

GBP/USD Overview – June 13: The Court Won't Stop Donald Trump!

The GBP/USD currency pair continued its upward movement on Thursday and nearly updated its three-year high. For most of the day, quotes hovered around the 1.36 level

Paolo Greco 03:41 2025-06-13 UTC+2

EUR/USD Overview – June 13: America's Economy Gets Lucky

The EUR/USD currency pair continued its strong upward movement throughout Thursday. Is anyone still puzzled as to why the U.S. dollar keeps falling? From our point of view, the reasons

Paolo Greco 03:41 2025-06-13 UTC+2

Trump Sends Out "Letters of Happiness"

It has been less than two weeks since Donald Trump raised import tariffs on steel and aluminum for all countries except the UK. While negotiations with the UK were deemed

Chin Zhao 00:21 2025-06-13 UTC+2

GBP/USD. A Weak Pound Stronger Than a Weak Greenback

Following weak UK labor market data, equally soft figures on British economic growth were released on Thursday. Almost all components of the report came out in the "red zone," increasing

Irina Manzenko 00:20 2025-06-13 UTC+2

The Dollar Flees the Battlefield

The old becomes new again. The word "recession" again trended in the Forex and other financial markets. May's U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell short of Bloomberg analysts' forecasts. Following

Marek Petkovich 00:20 2025-06-13 UTC+2
Can't speak right now?
Ask your question in the chat.
Widget callback
 

Dear visitor,

Your IP address shows that you are currently located in the USA. If you are a resident of the United States, you are prohibited from using the services of InstaFintech Group including online trading, online transfers, deposit/withdrawal of funds, etc.

If you think you are seeing this message by mistake and your location is not the US, kindly proceed to the website. Otherwise, you must leave the website in order to comply with government restrictions.

Why does your IP address show your location as the USA?

  • - you are using a VPN provided by a hosting company based in the United States;
  • - your IP does not have proper WHOIS records;
  • - an error occurred in the WHOIS geolocation database.

Please confirm whether you are a US resident or not by clicking the relevant button below. If you choose the wrong option, being a US resident, you will not be able to open an account with InstaForex anyway.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this message.