The National Bank of Canada

Bank of Canada upbeatAlthough the BoC kept its key rate unchanged at 0.5% yesterday, it nevertheless announced that it had upgraded its growth outlook for 2016 and 2017, citing the positive impact of...

Spike in crude oil pricesCrude oil prices quickly shot up more than 5% yesterday after news hit the wires about a potential agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia to limit output levels. The...

Japan ready to step inJapanese Finance Minister Taro Aso confirmed yesterday that his department remained on the alert and prepared to take action as needed if market movements were primarily driven...

Both Brent and WTI crude oil found their strength again last week, with both benchmarks increasing by 4 USD/bbl. WTI closed the week just under $40/bbl., and Brent ended at $42/bbl. Brent’s...

Range of the week : 1.2700-1.3300The USDCAD continued to fall last week in response to remarks made by members of North American central banks and the release of employment data in Canada. The pair...

Indicators released in recent days have been quite encouraging. We learned on Friday that Canada had created some 40,000 jobs in March, a sharp reversal of the trend seen in the first months of 2016...

One, two, three or four rate hikes?The minutes of March’s FOMC meeting were released yesterday, revealing that a divide exists within the committee. In concrete terms, Fed members always attempt...

Exports fall flatIn a rare development, the Canadian dollar ended the day in the red while crude oil gained ground, likely due to the release of Canadian Trade Balance figures that came in...

Crude oil down againThe week is off to a rough start for crude oil. After dropping more than 4% on Friday, it wrapped up the day yesterday down close to 3%. It appears that the many statements from...

Range of the week : 1.2800-1.3300Last week was relatively charged with economic news and events, both in the U.S. and Canada. Speeches given early in the week by several members of the Federal Reserve...

Last week was not kind to oil producers. Crude prices fell almost every day, for a combined 5% loss in for Brent Oil and 7% for WTI. Brent returned to sub-$40 levels, and WTI closed the week just...

The Fed finally acknowledged at its meeting in March that markets were right all along to expect a much less aggressive path of interest-rate hikes than it had been peddling for the last several...

U.S. jobs beat expectations once againIt’s definitely getting harder and harder to question the strength of the job market south of the border. Once again, employment data released on Friday...

Risk-taking favouredThe greenback is once again under pressure against its peers this morning, with the euro reaching a 5-month high and the CAD racking up gains of more than 12% since bottoming out...

You have to wonder whether Fed members deliberately try to confuse markets. In contrast to other Fed officials, Chair Janet Yellen threw cold water on anticipations of new tightening in U.S. monetary...

Crude oil correction continuesFor no particular reason, we’re waking up this morning to crude oil under $39 a barrel after four straight days of declining prices, racking up losses of close to...