USD/CAD shows minor decreases, hovering around 1.3675 in the Asian session on Friday. The ambiguity related to US trade policy leads to a decrease in the value of the US Dollar. Later on Friday, attention will shift to the Canadian Q4 GDP and the US January PPI data. The currency pair is experiencing slight declines, hovering around 1.3675 during the Asian trading session on Friday. The ongoing uncertainty in US policy is exerting pressure on the US Dollar relative to the Canadian Dollar. Market participants are getting ready for the upcoming Canadian Q4 Gross Domestic Product and US January Producer Price Index reports, which are set to be released later on Friday.
The Greenback continues to encounter difficulties following the US Supreme Court’s ruling last week, which concluded that the emergency powers law used by US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs did not provide the necessary authority for his policy framework. Trump declared his plan to impose a broad 15% tariff on imports, utilizing legislation that allows him to implement import taxes for 150 days without requiring congressional approval. The next day, Trump suggested a possible rise in tariffs to 15%, which raised concerns about the unpredictability of US trade policies.
Nonetheless, the better-than-expected US Initial Jobless Claims data could potentially lessen the losses of the USD. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday indicated that the number of Americans submitting first-time unemployment claims increased to 212,000 in the week ending February 21. This figure came in at 208K (revised from 206K) from the previous week and was below the market consensus of 215K.
Meanwhile, the easing of tensions between the US and Iran may adversely affect the commodity-linked Loonie. It is important to recognize that Canada is a significant player in the oil export market, and typically, declines in crude oil prices have a negative impact on the CAD. Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi stated on Thursday that the US and Iran are set to continue nuclear discussions next week following the significant progress made in Switzerland.