Forex Critical – Canadian Dollar: High Odds of Rate Hike Equal High Impact of Any Disappointment

Going into last week’s report on Canadian employment, currency speculators retreated further from what was a record net short position against the Canadian dollar (FXC) less than two months prior. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders This retreat is occurring in conjunction with a consistent strengthening in the Canadian dollar. For example, USD/CAD peaked in … Read more

Forex Critical: The Canadian Dollar Ignites But Was That Intended?

{updated to include commentary on The Guggenheim Canadian Energy Income ETF (ENY)} On Monday, June 12, 2017, Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada Carolyn A. Wilkins delivered a speech at the Asper School of Business in Winnipeg, Manitoba that was firmly bullish on the Canadian economy. The market’s reaction was swift and equally … Read more

Forex Critical: Bullish Measure on Canadian Dollar Reaches 4-Year High

According to the latest CFTC data, speculators accumulated their largest net long position on the Canadian dollar (FXC) since February, 2013. This 4-year high in bullishness sticks out so much only because speculators have spent most of these four years being very bearish on the Canadian dollar. Prior to 2013, net longs were regularly 2 … Read more

Canadian Dollar Selling Reawakens After the Bank of Canada Responds to Trump Policies

“Uncertainty about the global outlook is undiminished, particularly with respect to policies in the United States.” – Bank of Canada press release, “Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1/2 per cent”, January 18, 2017 I start with this quote from the Bank of Canada because it stands in stark contrast to global financial … Read more

How to Reconcile Brexit Uncertainties and the Rally in Stock Markets: Don’t

“Faint and quaint” is how I am starting to describe the initial panic and consternation of financial markets resulting from the UK’s decision to exit from the European Union (EU), aka Brexit. The S&P 500 (SPY) now logs new all-time highs as if nothing ever happened. Yet, a rapid consensus has grown around reducing forecasts … Read more

The Canadian Dollar and Fiscal Policy Make the Bank of Canada “Non-Dovish”

The Bank of Canada released its latest decision on monetary policy a week ago on April 13, 2016 and left its target rate at 1/2% again. According to the Bank of Canada (BoC), the government’s fiscal policy saved the day for the Canadian economy. Global growth is slowing. The strength in the Canadian dollar (FXC) … Read more

The Bank of Canada Is Done With Rate Cuts

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 9, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Bank of Canada decided once again to hold its target overnight interest rate at 0.5%. The overall message from the statement on monetary policy is that economic developments are unfolding … Read more

The Bank of Canada Avoids the “R” Word

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 14, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) As expected, the Bank of Canada left rates unchanged in its latest decision on monetary policy (September 9, 2015). Also as expected, the Bank did not interpret recent GDP data as … Read more

The Canadian Dollar’s Rapid Devaluation: A Precarious Predicament for the Bank of Canada

A year ago, the Bank of Canada (BOC) delivered the first of two rate cut surprises for the year. So with oil still cratering ever lower, I can understand why the market seemed braced for yet another rate cut last week. Instead, the BOC not only stood still on rates, but also it expressed an … Read more

The Bank of Canada Looks Forward to Policy Divergence

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 3, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) Lost in the flurry of economic and monetary news of the week was the Bank of Canada’s December decision on interest rates. The Bank kept its target rate at 0.5%, and … Read more