Today, trading is lighter than usual due to a holiday in the United States. But this does not mean that the Forex market was quiet. Traders were focusing on the OPEC meeting, and it certainly affected the market. The Canadian dollar together with other oil-related currencies sank after the gathering.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries held a meeting in Vienna today. Analysts were speculating ahead of the event that the organization might reduce production quotas to address the slump of prices for crude oil. This has not come to be as the OPEC stated:
Recording its concern over the rapid decline in oil prices in recent months, the Conference concurred that stable oil prices â at a level which did not affect global economic growth but which, at the same time, allowed producers to receive a decent income and to invest to meet future demand â were vital for world economic wellbeing. Accordingly, in the interest of restoring market equilibrium, the Conference decided to maintain the production level of 30.0 mb/d, as was agreed in December 2011.
Oil prices sank after the announcement. Currencies of oil-producing countries followed the drop. The Canadian dollar, the Norway krone and the Russian ruble were among the losers.
USD/CAD jumped from 1.1245 to 1.1343 as of 17:57 GMT today. EUR/CAD advanced from 1.4060 to 1.4147, and CAD/JPY tumbled from 104.67 to 103.79.
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