Canadian Economy Grows 4.5% in May vs. 3.5% Anticipated

Friday’s economic report highlights the release of Canada’s monthly GDP growth data for May, released by Statistics Canada at 12:30 GMT. After a sharp 11.6% contraction in the previous month, the report is expected to show that the Canadian economy grew 3.5% for the reporting month.

However, following the release, Canada’s real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 4.5% month-on-month in May, data released by Statistics Canada on Friday showed. This reading follows the April 11.7% contraction (revised from 11.6%) and came out slightly better than the market expected for a 3.5% gain.

USD/CAD was seen consolidating the previous day’s positive move by more than 100 pips from 1.3330 regions, or seven-week lows. Given that the recent price action has been driven solely by US dollar price movements, this data is unlikely to turn things around for major events, although it could still bring meaningful trading opportunities in the short term.

“In May, provinces, and territories began to open up sectors of their economies to varying degrees,” a press release from Statistics Canada said. “Although gains in May offset some of the downturns in March and April, economic activity remained 15% below pre-pandemic levels in February.”

Market Impact Data Published
This data does not have a significant impact on CAD performance when compared to competitors. At the time of writing, the USD/CAD pair is virtually unchanged over the day at 1.3424. With crude oil prices rising moderately and stronger than expected, the rebound may be enough to support modest gains in the commodity-linked currency, the CAD.

However, some subsequent buying outside of the overnight swing high, around 1.3460, should help the pair recover the key 1.3500 psychological levels. On the other hand, weakening below 1.3400, leading to a subsequent breakout of the horizontal support at 1.3385-80, could leave the pair vulnerable to a decline to multi-week lows around 1.3330.