A series of economic data points on both sides of the border are reaffirming what the market already knows; economic activity is accelerating at a rapid pace. In the US, retail sales in March were up nearly 10%, way above expectations of around 6%. The boom in retail spending is being attributed to the stimulus cheques sent out earlier as part of the Biden stimulus package. Also, in the US, weekly first-time filings for unemployment insurance plunged to the lowest total since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. In Canada, ADP employment figures for March were triple that of February and while that figure is notoriously volatile, it added to the overall positive sentiment in the markets. The Canadian dollar is slightly stronger than yesterday and is trading at near the high end of the range for the last few weeks. As we have been saying for a few weeks, in the absence of surprising news about the macro picture we don’t see the Loonie moving much in the short term.
