CANADIAN DOLLAR FALLS AS RETAIL DATA DISAPPOINTS

The Canadian Dollar fell 0.40% against the dollar following disappointing retail data. According to data from Statistics Canada, the monthly core retail sales grew by -1.8%. This was lower than last month’s 1.7% and lower than the expected data of 0.1%. Core retail sales declined by -0.8% compared to last month’s growth of 0.8%. After this data, the Canadian dollar fell to the lowest level since December last year. This could change when the country reports its inflation data tomorrow.

The pound rebounded against the dollar gaining by 22 basis points. Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed that business investment grew at an annualized rate of 2.1% compared to an estimated growth of 2.5%. Last quarter’s investment grew by 0% compared the estimated 0.5%. At the same time, the country’s economy grew at a slower pace than expected. Last quarter, the GDP expanded by 0.4% compared to a growth of 0.5%. It expanded by an annualized rate of 1.4% compared to investors’ estimation of 1.5%.

The Euro moved slightly against the dollar even as data from Germany disappointed. The data showed that February’s business expectations of 105.4 missed analysts’ estimates of 107.9. The IFO Business climate index of 115.4 missed estimates of 117.1. In the United States, the initial jobless claims fell to 222K, which was better than expected.

USD/CAD

The Canadian dollar continued its decline to trade at a monthly low of 1.2757. The pair continues to trade above its 50-day MA and 200-day MA. Tomorrow, with no major significant data from the US, traders will focus on inflation data from Canada. Negative inflation data could see the pair trade at the 1.2930 level. Alternatively, traders should watch out for the support of 1.2663.

EUR/USD

On Friday, the EUR/USD pair started falling after reaching a peak of 1.2552. Since then, the pair has reached a low of 1.2258, which is a 61.8 Fibonacci Retracement level. As shown below, the 14-day moving average appears to be changing direction. This could be a turning point for the pair which could start a new trend.

GBP/USD

The cable rebounded against the dollar, climbing above the support level of 1.3945. This rise came even as the economic data from the UK disappointed. The alligator indicator shown below shows that the pair could continue moving up.