The US dollar continues to languish as a sea of optimism pushes up the equity markets further into record territory. Amidst the end of the political drama over the US stimulus bill and the end of the Brexit drama, the US dollar index is down 0.3% this morning and near its lowest levels since April of 2018. The Canadian dollar continues to be yanked along with global developments without much consideration to domestic factors and as such is up 0.4% this morning and just about 1% off of its highest levels since April of 2018. As is the case every year, light end-of-year trading is causing some unusual intraday gyrations but the overall story of optimism led by equity markets and a weakening US dollar remains unchanged. Into the new year, the term “vaccination rate” will become increasingly common in financial discussions as markets try to determine how quickly major population centers can be vaccinated and attempt to estimate the end of the pandemic. As it stands, the markets are pricing a return to some for of economic normalcy near the middle of next year.
