After last week’s surge, the US dollar has given up some ground and now sits at 1.227, almost exactly at the Interchange Financial Short-Term Consensus Forecast for the end of June. Last week, the US Federal Reserve caused stocks to swoon and the US dollar to jump by conveying a message that the market interpreted as indicating a sooner-than-expected tightening of monetary conditions. Officials have since softened their stance somewhat, pushing the US dollar somewhat lower. The Canadian dollar is also benefiting this morning from rising oil prices which are at yet another multi-year high and stock prices which have again settled at near record prices. April retail sales in Canada came in slightly below forecasts but did not impact the exchange rate. As it stands, USD to CAD (ie: the value of US dollars) seems to be settling at a level that is well above its recent ranges but still below levels seen earlier in the year before the Bank of Canada tilted hawkish.
