The Canadian dollar logged gains today, though they were very mild. As many other currencies, the loonie traded not far from the opening level as traders were waiting for news about the trade talks between the Unite States and China. As for domestic news, Canada’s gross domestic product provided a positive surprise, and other macroeconomic indicators were also above expectations.
Statistics Canada reported that GDP rose 0.3% in April following the 0.5% increase in March. Despite the slowdown, it was still a better reading than an increase by 0.2% predicted by economists.
Released separately, the Industrial Product Price Index edged up 0.1% in May, instead of falling at the same rate as analysts had predicted, following the 0.8% increase in April. The Raw Materials Price Index dropped 2.3% last month after rising for five consecutive months. Nevertheless, it was a better reading than a 3.0% drop forecast by specialists ahead of the report.
The better-than-expected data allowed the Canadian currency to ignore the decline of prices for North American crude oil. The possible reason for the decline was the increase of the number of US oil rigs this week.
USD/CAD edged down from 1.3093 to 1.3086 as of 19:10 GMT today, touching the low of 1.3059 intraday — the lowest since November 7. EUR/CAD was little changed at 1.4883 after rallying to 1.4919 earlier. CAD/JPY inched up from 82.30 to 82.33, rebounding from the session minimum of 82.11.
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