The CAD received a boost from yesterday’s rally in oil prices, which pushed the USD/CAD exchange rate briefly under 1.33. And today’s better-than-expected GDP figure that showed the Canadian economy growing 0.6 percent in January, pushed the Canadian dollar under the 1.33 mark for a second time this week.
By 8:40 a.m., ten minutes after the GDP release, the USD/CAD was trading as low as 1.32901.
According to Statistics Canada, the manufacturing sector showed the biggest gains in January, growing 1.9 percent, “With the exception of October, the manufacturing sector has grown every month since June 2016.,” said the agency.
While the services sector showed increases of 1.1 percent:
“Service-producing industries rose 0.4%, their highest monthly growth rate since June 2015.”The repopt showed significant growth in the mining, oil & gas sector, which expanded by 1.9 percent in January. One of the key points in the report was the growth in wholesale trade. Statistics Canada data showed the sector growing by 2.4 percent in January, with the agency stating that this was “the largest monthly gain since July 2013.”
Solid growth was also observed in the retail, transportation and construction industries. Although residential construction was up by 0.5 percent, real estate agents and brokers posted declines in activity of 1.8 percent in January, “Activity in this subsector has generally been declining since its peak in the second quarter of 2016.,” said the report.
CAD banknote photo by KMR Photography
