With the Pound still trending higher off the back of Wednesday’s impressive UK employment gain, the Pound to Canadian Dollar exchange rate was relatively static during the European session.
A report detailing a strong increase in UK house prices had little impact on the Pound to Canadian Dollar exchange rate and it drifted just a negligible 0.08 per cent higher.
Little movement was occasioned by the sub-par US advance retail sales figure and the news that Canada’s new housing price index rose by as much as anticipated in April received a muted response.
The nation’s new housing price index climbed by 0.2 per cent in April, month-on-month, following a 0.2 per cent monthly gain in March. On the year the index showed an increase of 1.6 per cent, unchanged from the previous month’s annual figure. Prices increased in Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton, but fell in Victoria and Winnipeg.
In the opinion of senior economist Bill Adams; ‘Canada’s housing boom hasn’t gone bust – it’s just fizzled out. The drag on the economy from a cooler real estate sector will continue to be a manageable one as long as housing prices are inching higher or even holding steady. Long term, the jury is still out on what will happen to Canada’s highly leveraged household finances when mortgage interest rates someday reset to higher levels’.
However, the Canadian Dollar did spend Thursday being slightly boosted by the fact that the escalating conflict in North Iraq was driving oil prices higher. The price of Brent crude oil (an important Canadian export) achieved its highest level since March after climbing by 2.2 per cent. According to analyst Carsten Fritsch; ‘The Iraq development is the main driver for oil prices today and increases nervousness over the security of supply from the country.’
Before the weekend further movement in the GBP to CAD pairing could be inspired by the UK’s construction output report and Canada’s manufacturing sales/shipments figures.
If the Canadian data surprises to the upside the ‘Loonie’ could manage to assert a firmer footing. China’s retail sales and industrial production figures may also influence the commodity-driven currency.
Canadian Dollar (CAD) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Canadian Dollar,
,Pound Sterling,0.5480,
Canadian Dollar,,US Dollar,0.9220,
Canadian Dollar,,Euro,0.6809,
Canadian Dollar,,Australian Dollar,0.9790,
Canadian Dollar,,New Zealand Dollar,1.0726,
US Dollar,,Canadian Dollar ,1.0856,
Pound Sterling,,Canadian Dollar,1.8253,
Euro,,Canadian Dollar,1.4699,
Australian Dollar,,Canadian Dollar,1.0216,
New Zealand Dollar,,Canadian Dollar,0.9320,
[/table]
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