The Canadian dollar has gained another half cent against the US dollar overnight and has now risen by 1.5 cents since yesterday’s low. This surge in the Canadian dollar’s value occurred after the release of higher-than-expected Canadian inflation numbers this morning. In April, inflation rose by 0.7%, surpassing the 0.4% anticipated by analysts. Additionally, on an annualized basis, Canadian inflation increased by 4.4% compared to the expected 4.1%. This has created a more uncertain path forward for the Bank of Canada.
Prior to this morning’s inflation data, the market expectation was that the Bank of Canada would remain on hold for most of 2023 before considering rate cuts in December or early 2024. However, following the April inflation figures, market expectations now suggest that the bank may potentially raise rates once more in September. The possibility of an additional interest rate hike by the BoC, while the Fed remains firmly on pause, resulted in increased investor inflows for the Canadian dollar compared to the US dollar.
The Canadian Dollar is currently trading at 1.3458 against the US dollar.