Yesterday, the US dollar fell against major currencies after the USD Consumer Confidence Index was released. Specifically with respect to the loonie, the greenback gave up more than 50 bps. Household morale in the U.S. posted a surprise drop in April, coming in at 95.2 instead of the 101.4 recorded in the previous months, whereas analysts had expected a rise. Consumers are less sanguine about the economic outlook and the job market. Despite this disappointing result, the economic fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain solid.
Today, markets will follow U.S. Federal Open Market Committee members closely, as they will be announcing their key rate decision this afternoon. The appropriate moment for raising the key rate remains a hotly debated topic within the Committee, as some are advocating to increase it as soon as June whereas others are counselling patience.
In addition, U.S. GDP data for Q1 of 2015 will be released this morning at 8:30 a.m. Analysts are projecting a low 1% growth rate (YoY), but are expecting growth to rebound subsequently.
- Range of the day: 1.1920 - 1.2120
Have a good day! Julien Duquette