FX: USDCAD Upside Ahead of Scheduled Risk


*USDCAD positive momentum evident in the near-term
*BoC Gov. Poloz and Sep. Retail Sales worth a watch
*CAD positioning still very long relative to G10 currencies



Short-term bulls, long-term bears

Our contention is that in the near-term it's very likely we see USDCAD push towards Q3 highs of 1.3380-85 having arguably broken multi-month trend resistance and the key 1.3 level. Though, the driving factor will primarily come from USD risk and not what some would say is Canadian sluggishness. We believe that while short-term momentum runs strong, long-term fundamentals suggest USDCAD lower. 
 

Canadian economy ticking along

Overnight markets saw CAD inflation numbers y/y print 1.9%, in line with expectations. This puts inflation close to the BoC 2% target and probably means BoC remain unchanged at their next December meeting. BoC are unlikely to deliver an insurance cut in Dec. despite having flagged downside risks to growth. In our SPECIAL REPORT: BoC October Preview, we show that domestic employment and housing data has been strong but follow-through to labour figures and consumption has been sub-par. 
 

Scheduled risk ahead

BoC Gov. Poloz speaks on Friday at 12.40am AEDT while Sep. Core Retail Sales m/m prints Saturday, 12.30am AEDT. Monthly Core Retail Sales, having disappointed in recent times, sees consensus at -0.1%. A negative print here confirms the sluggish state of Canadian spending and could drive Dec. rate cut pricing higher. Therefore, we closely monitor both risk events and lean on USDCAD short-term bullishness. CAD positioning is still the most high conviction long among G10 currencies. 



Back