The Canadian dollar has weakened slightly

The Canadian dollar has weakened compared to the US dollar in recent times, with investors closely watching the strength of the economy in the country. Additionally, reports indicate that the Canadian economy seems to be in good shape, with a strong job market and interest rate hikes being of interest.

The growth forecast for Canada in 2023 has been revised up from 1.0% to 1.4%, attributed to a reference interest rate of 4.50% from the Bank of Canada (BoC).

Tiff Macklem, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, spoke about the interest rate hike at a policy meeting before deciding to hold off on further increases.

One weakness in the Canadian economy in recent months has been the housing market, but data on Friday showed that home sales rose 1.4% in March from February, the second consecutive month of increased sales.

Robert Kavcic, a senior economist at BMO, said that Canada's housing market remains subdued, with existing home sales increasing by 1.4% in March, but still down 34.4% from last year, resulting in sales volumes below pre-pandemic levels and 20% below the 10-year average.

Meanwhile, one of Canada's key exports is oil, and oil prices have risen due to positive factors, with the country's energy agency saying that global demand will peak this year.

The yield on Canada's 10-year bond has risen, following the US Treasury's decision to halt interest rate hikes, and reached a high of 3.074% on March 10 before falling to 3.038%.

At 8:30 pm today, Canada announced its consumer price index (CPI) and core CPI, with estimates of 4.3% and 4.4% respectively, which are considered lower than expected last month. If this announcement matches the expected numbers, it could strengthen the Canadian dollar slightly.

Technical analysis data (5H)