Trading news

USD/CAD recovers from intraday lows on Friday as softer-than-expected Canadian Retail Sales data weighs on the Canadian Dollar (CAD), while a rebound in the US Dollar (USD) provides additional support to the pair.

Nordea’s Sara Midtgaard reports that the Federal Reserve left its policy rate unchanged and signalled only gradual easing, with one 25 bp cut projected in both 2026 and 2027.

Citing officials, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the Pentagon is sending roughly "2,200 to 2,500 Marines from the California-based USS Boxer amphibious ready group and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit," to the Middle East, alongside three warships.

Scotiabank’s global FX strategy team reports broad Dollar strength as G10 performance realigns with early US/Iran conflict patterns. They stress fragile risk sentiment as markets reassess prolonged conflict risks, central bank paths and violent yield repricing.

Scotiabank’s Analyst Team notes the Canadian Dollar is modestly firmer versus the Dollar and leading G10 peers, echoing its earlier conflict-phase outperformance. They highlight narrowing yield spreads and a relatively muted Bank of Canada meeting as key drivers.

EUR/GBP edges higher on Friday, recovering losses recorded in the previous day after the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE) monetary policy announcements.

Christopher Waller, a member of the Federal Reserve (Fed), said that based on the jobs report alone, he was planning to dissent in the monetary policy decision, but inflation has become more of a concern.

USD/JPY trades around 158.70 on Friday at the time of writing, up 0.61% on the day, staging a clear rebound after Thursday’s sharp decline. The move comes as the US Dollar (USD) regains traction following a bout of volatility, with markets reassessing the outlook for US monetary policy.

Canada New Housing Price Index (YoY): -2.1% (February) vs -2.3%

Canada New Housing Price Index (MoM) registered at 0.3% above expectations (-0.3%) in February

Canada Retail Sales ex Autos (MoM) below forecasts (1.2%) in January: Actual (0.8%)

Canada Retail Sales (MoM) came in at 1.1% below forecasts (1.5%) in January

Canada Industrial Product Price (MoM) came in at 0.4% below forecasts (1.1%) in February

Canada Raw Material Price Index came in at 0.6% below forecasts (2.4%) in February

OCBC’s Sim Moh Siong highlights that crude briefly surged toward USD120/bbl on Iranian attacks before easing as US officials signalled supply support and Israel suggested faster de-escalation.

OCBC’s Christopher Wong reports that Gold has come under pressure as rising global yields and renewed inflation risks reduce expectations for near-term rate cuts, prompting ETF outflows and stress-driven liquidation.

Gold (XAU/USD) struggles to gain traction on Friday following a sharp two-day decline that pushed prices to their lowest level since early February, near the $4,500 mark.

Mexico Private Spending (YoY): 4% (4Q) vs 1.6%

Mexico Private Spending (QoQ) fell from previous 1.1% to 1% in 4Q

India FX Reserves, USD down to $709.76B in March 9 from previous $716.81B