The USD/CAD pair was able to reach its short-term target of 1.3500 since the pair was one of the least volatile currency pairs after the market’s reaction to the US presidential elections last week. The USD in particular exhibited wild up-and-down motions while the US elections was in process as investors did not know how to react to the sudden victory of Donald Trump. Trump is not yet known how to act as a political figure, however he is expected to implement protectionist policies and it is expected that Canada would also be affected by Trump’s “neighbor” policy, causing the CAD’s reaction to the elections to become somewhat muted as compared to other currencies.
Oil prices have also experienced added activity last week, as this commodity has a significant effect on the Canadian economy. For this week, major economic releases from the US include the retail sales data as well as a testimonial from Fed’s Janet Yellen who is expected to outline the Federal Reserve’s future policies. The market is still expecting a rate hike in December, and the Fed is also expected to increase the frequency of its rate hikes for 2017, and this speculation has been one of the reasons behind the large upticks occurring in the USD/CAD pair. However, these policies might be subject to changes as the weeks progress and as Trump assumes office next year.