With the US election effectively over and Biden all but elected as President, the market’s attention has returned to more economic matters. The Federal Reserve provided its monthly guidance yesterday and its main message was that economic activity has continued to recover but the pace of improvement has moderated. That view was echoed this morning here at home with Canada reporting a jobs number that was below expectations and way below last months numbers. The US number came in above expectations but not by much given the scale of the economic crisis. There was not a significant reaction to either report in the USD/CAD exchange rate which is flat this morning but continues to trade at the lowest levels since the beginning of January (ie: CAD is strongest since early January). US politics is not fully out of the picture though as markets remain very interested in a fiscal stimulus package out the US. The passage of a large package is now somewhat likely and it would drive down the US dollar and drive up the Canadian dollar.
