In the end of this week’s session the Canadian dollar pared its previous gains as risk aversion rose this Friday, affecting U.S. stocks performance and also the crude oil, the main Canadian commodity exported to the United States, influencing the loonie’s outlook.
The Canadian currency rose 12 percent versus its U.S. counterpart this year, and since June, Bank of Canada officials are stressing on the fact that a very strong loonie may bring a negative impact to national exporters, and measures to be taken are not ruled out, if the loonie climb further. This month the Canadian currency has been one of the biggest losers versus its U.S. counterpart among the 16 most traded currencies in foreign-exchange markets, losing 1.3 percent as this week ended, which is certainly a favorable scenario for Canadian exporters.
The rally perceived in the beginning of the month which set the loonie to around 1.07 per U.S. dollar raised eyebrows in the Bank of Canada, considering that a stronger currency decreases competitiveness for one nation’s products, with statements regarding this fact already helping to prevent the rally to continue temporarily. It is unlikely that the loonie will rise further, as the national bank already announced that it will take measures to stop its climb, so a rather neutral or bearish trend can be expected for the Canadian currency in the short term.
USD/CAD closed this week at 1.0913 from a previous rate of 1.0863 on Thursday.
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