Canadian dollar edges higher ahead of retail sales – heochaua

<p><a href="https://api.addthis.com/oexchange/0.8/forward/facebook/offer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketpulse.com%2Fnews-events%2Fcentral-banks%2Fcanadian-dollar-edges-higher-ahead-of-retail-sales%2Fkfisher&amp;pubid=ra-525512e4690e068c&amp;title=Marketpulse%20%7C%20Home&amp;ct=1" target="_blank"><img src="https://cache.addthiscdn.com/icons/v3/thumbs/32×32/facebook.png" border="0" alt="Facebook" /></a><a href="https://api.addthis.com/oexchange/0.8/forward/twitter/offer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketpulse.com%2Fnews-events%2Fcentral-banks%2Fcanadian-dollar-edges-higher-ahead-of-retail-sales%2Fkfisher&amp;pubid=ra-525512e4690e068c&amp;title=Marketpulse%20%7C%20Home&amp;ct=1" target="_blank"><img src="https://cache.addthiscdn.com/icons/v3/thumbs/32×32/twitter.png" border="0" alt="Twitter" /></a><a href="https://api.addthis.com/oexchange/0.8/forward/email/offer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketpulse.com%2Fnews-events%2Fcentral-banks%2Fcanadian-dollar-edges-higher-ahead-of-retail-sales%2Fkfisher&amp;pubid=ra-525512e4690e068c&amp;title=Marketpulse%20%7C%20Home&amp;ct=1" target="_blank"><img src="https://cache.addthiscdn.com/icons/v3/thumbs/32×32/email.png" border="0" alt="Email" /></a></p><ul>
<li>Canada to release retail sales today, GDP on Friday</li>
<li>US GDP expected to confirm estimate 5.2% gain</li>
</ul>
<p>The Canadian dollar is slightly higher on Thursday. In the European session, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3324, down 0.19%.</p>
<p><strong>Canadian retail sales, GDP expected to improve</strong></p>
<p>It’s a busy end of the week for Canadian releases, with retail sales today and the GDP on Friday. Both indicators are expected to accelerate, which could give a boost to the Canadian dollar. The US releases third-estimate GDP for the third quarter, which is expected to confirm the previous estimate of 5.2%.</p>
<p>Canada’s retail sales are showing some strength, raising hopes that the Christmas season will be marked by strong consumer spending. In September, retail sales grew by 0.6%, which was the fastest growth rate in five months. The consensus estimate for October stands at 0.8% m/m.</p>
<p>The economy has not looked all that strong, although fears of a shallow recession failed to materialize as the economy posted weak growth in the third quarter. September GDP came in at just 0.1% m/m and October is expected to tick up to 0.2%.</p>
<p>The manufacturing sector is in a slump, as domestic activity has been weak and global demand for Canadian products has decreased. Manufacturing Sales slipped 2.8% m/m in October and the November data will be released on Friday.</p>
<p>Inflation has fallen to around 3% but is proving to be stubborn as the Bank of Canada tries to bring it back down to the 2% target. The BoC has signalled that it expects inflation to remain sticky and has projected an inflation rate of 3.5% through the middle of 2024. The central bank has paused rates three straight times and with a sputtering economy, there isn’t much reason to hike rates, which makes the BoC’s rate hike warnings appear rather hollow.</p>
<p>.</p>
<p><strong>USD/CAD Technical</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>USD/CAD is testing support at 1.3350. Below, there is support at 1.3281</li>
<li>There is resistance at 1.3450 and 1.3550</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.marketpulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USDCAD_2023-12-21_11-22-49.png"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-809183" src="https://www.marketpulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USDCAD_2023-12-21_11-22-49-300×146.png" alt="" width="400" height="194" srcset="https://www.marketpulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USDCAD_2023-12-21_11-22-49-300×146.png 300w, https://www.marketpulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USDCAD_2023-12-21_11-22-49-1024×497.png 1024w, https://www.marketpulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USDCAD_2023-12-21_11-22-49-768×373.png 768w, https://www.marketpulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USDCAD_2023-12-21_11-22-49-1536×746.png 1536w, https://www.marketpulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USDCAD_2023-12-21_11-22-49.png 1835w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a></p>