Canadian dollar falls to 9-month line, US CPI next

The Canadian dollar continues to lose ground. In the North American session, USD/CAD is trading at 1.4315, up 0.48% at the time of writing. The Canadian dollar has declined 2.2% in December and is trading at its lowest level since mid-March.

Canadian inflation ticks lower to 1.9%

Canada’s inflation eased to 1.9% in November, down from 2% in October and shy of the market expectations of 2%. However, the trimmed-mean core rate remained unchanged at  2.7%, higher than the market estimate of 2.5%. This is above the Bank of Canada’s target of 2% and will complicate plans to continue to lower interest rates.

The BoC has been the leader among major central banks in lowering rates, with five rate cuts since June for a total of 175 basis points. The central bank chopped the benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 3.25% last week but indicated in the rate statement that it expected a “more gradual approach to monetary policy”, which means we can expect 25-bp increments in rate cuts if there are no surprises in inflation or employment data.

^{US retail stronger than expected}

US retail sales sparkled, another sign that the US economy remains robust. Retail sales jumped 3.8% y/y in November, following an upwardly revised 2.9% in October. This was the highest annual gain since last December. Monthly, retail sales rose 0.7%, above the upwardly revised 0.5% gain in October and the market estimate of 0.5%.

USD/CAD Technical

• USD/CAD is testing resistance at 1.4289. Above, there is resistance at 1.4343
• 1.4191 and 1.4137 are the next support levels

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