Canadian dollar is experiencing very choppy trading today, moving between gains and losses against major counterparts as traders and investors try to figure out what to do next.
Yesterday, markets rallied following Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke‘s testimony before Congress. Today, though, there is a different mood, with Chinese manufacturing reports indicating a contraction, and news out of the eurozone indicating continued recession.
Even so, there is a strange mix of demand for risk assets along with an aversion to them. Stocks are plunging around the world, particularly in Asia and Europe. Additionally, oil prices are much lower. These lower oil prices should normally bring the loonie down against the greenback, but instead the Canadian dollar is higher against its US counterpart right now.
Wild swings in the markets are reflecting in the Canadian dollar performance, which swings from gains to losses as traders try to figure out what all the economic data, plus rumors of the Fed tapering its easing program ahead of schedule, could mean for markets.
At 15:03 GMT USD/CAD is lower at 1.0345, down from the open at 1.0368. EUR/CAD is up to 1.3352 from the open at 1.3331. GBP/CAD is at 1.5585, down from the open at 1.5603. CAD/JPY is down to 98.0995 from the open at 99.5010.
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