ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
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After Canada experienced a hot inflation print for the month of August (the Consumer Price Index (CPI)), I aggressively declared the Canadian dollar a buy, long Invesco CurrencyShares Canadian Dollar Trust (FXC) and short USD/CAD. I ignored the technicals of support at an upward sloping 50-day moving average (DMA) (the red line below) on USD/CAD … Read more
“We are encouraged that inflation is declining, and we are seized with the importance of staying the course and restoring price stability for Canadians. Inflation is coming down quickly and is forecast to be around 3% this summer. The economy is expected to grow modestly even as inflation comes down. This is good news, but it is not job done.” “Monetary … Read more
In a blunt and direct discussion, Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor Tiff Macklem made a compelling case for fighting inflation by declaring that “the economy has entered this period of excess demand with considerable momentum and high inflation, and we are committed to getting inflation back to target.” To do so, the BoC hiked its … Read more
The Bank of Canada (BoC) not only ended its quantitative easing (QE) program, but also the Bank refreshingly acknowledged the inflation issue in Canada. In his opening statement, Governor Tiff Macklem pointed out that higher energy prices and supply chain constraints are worse than previously assumed and are driving hotter inflation levels. Canadian inflation will … Read more
The Bank of Canada (BoC) released its latest Monetary Policy Report on July 15, 2020. Neither the report nor the press conference contained any surprises. The BoC did not change interest rates, kept the crank turning on its Quantitative Easing (QE) program, and promised to “hold the policy interest rate at the effective lower bound … Read more
Canadian Dollar After the Bank of Canada announced its latest update on monetary policy, the U.S. dollar gained about 1.7% on the Canadian dollar. I thought perhaps the Bank of Canada delivered some incredibly awful news. Nothing in the statement was a surprise. Indeed, the Bank of Canada essentially suggested it would not take rates … Read more
The U.S. Senate approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement on Thursday, January 16th. That timing may mark a major milestone and turning point for the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar (USD/MXN). The following day, USD/MXN sliced through the low of 2019 and hit a 17-month low. I have been bullish on the Mexican … Read more
My now wavering bullish case for the Canadian dollar (FXC) took a major hit with the November, 2019 Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada reported worsening unemployment rates both sequentially and year-over-year. November’s 5.9% unemployment rate was an increase from October’s 5.5% and the 5.6% in November, 2018. The chart below suggests an end to the … Read more
The Bank of Canada changed its tune from the its last pronouncement on monetary policy. At that time, the Bank was very confident about the Canadian economy even as it mapped out the downside risks of the U.S. vs China Trade War. The Trade War remains unresolved three months later, and the Bank of Canada … Read more
“It would be a difficult place for policy, and my sense is that the markets are not really onto the complexity of it. It seems a little too easy that ‘Oh. Interest rates could decline and that will make everything OK.’ That may be true for the small kind of shocks that we’ve had so … Read more