Supported by steady commodity prices, the Canadian dollar was higher against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday morning, but off its highs as Canadian retail sales data for January came in lower than expected.
Retail sales fell by 0.3 percent in January from December, dragged lower by weaker new-car sales, Statistics Canada said. Other data showed Canada’s leading indicator for February was up 0.8 percent from January on strength in the manufacturing sector but that was insufficient to offset the impact of the retail figures.
Reuters
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by more than expected in January according to data supplied by the US Labor Department. CPI rose by 0.4 percent compared to projections of 0.3 percent with higher food and energy prices contributing to the increase. The Core CPI which excludes these items rose by 0.2 percent.
“We are seeing turn-of-the year price increases,” Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, said before the report. “Firms are really struggling with this. They want to raise prices and want to feel their way through and get away with it before consumers start to protest.”
Source: Bloomberg
The Canadian dollar gained 0.3 percent rising to 99.55 cents per US dollar at 8:24am in New York this morning. An increase in commodity prices helped reverse the Canadian dollar’s three-day losing streak.
“Investors are a little more comfortable with risk assets this morning, with commodity prices recovering and global equity markets generally firmer,” Shaun Osborne, chief foreign exchange strategist at TD Securities in Toronto, said in a note to clients. Investors are waiting “to see if the Fed acknowledges the improving growth backdrop.”
Source: Bloomberg
A recent poll of global investors shows that 59 percent of respondents believe at least one country will leave the Eurozone by 2016. A majority also felt that Greece and Ireland will default on their debt while odds for a Portugal default were fifty-fifty.
“The problems in Europe have been addressed, but only with a band aid,” said Ted Jarvis, senior vice president at the Indiana Trust Company in Anderson, Indiana, who participated in the survey. “Several euro members have not followed the correct policies and dug themselves a deep hole.”
Source: Bloomberg
After three days of gains, the Canadian dollar fell as profit-taking had stocks on the decline. The loonie lost 0.3 percent to C$1.0230 per U.S. dollar at 7:44 a.m. in Toronto, compared with C$1.0200 yesterday.
“It’s all about what the big dollar is doing,” Firas Askari, head currency trader in Toronto at Bank of Montreal, Canada’s fourth-largest lender, said via e-mail. Weakness in both stocks and oil “doesn’t help the loonie.”
Source: Bloomberg
The US Labor Department said today that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.1 percent in September compared to 0.3 percent in August. Predictions had been for an increase of 2 to 3 percent.
Outside of food and energy, core consumer prices were unchanged for the second straight month. And in the past 12 months, core prices rose by only 0.8 per cent, the smallest yearly gain in more than 49 years.
Source: The Associated Press
Retail sales for the eurozone region rose slightly in July, gaining 0.1 percent after a 0.2 percent gain in June. Several of the smaller member nations recorded more significant gains including a 3.0 percent increase in Portugal and a 2.9 percent increase in Malta. Germany, the economic powerhouse of the region, managed a slight gain of 0.3 percent.
Source: AFP News
The Canadian dollar gained 0.3 percent on the US dollar climbing to C$1.0683 from Friday’s close of C$1.0716.
Despite predictions of a 0.5 percent increase in retail sales for December, actual results indicate a 0.3 percent decline from November and is especially disappointing as the holiday season usually marks the strongest sales period of the year.
“Retail sales unexpectedly fell in December on broad-based weakness, suggesting holiday spending did not live up to early reports,” said Scott Hoyt at Moody’s Economy.com.
AFP News
