USDCAD: Uncertainty in Crude Oil Triggers Massive Swings

As crude oil prices rose in the past year, the USDCAD rate has declined. Canada is an oil export-oriented country and the price of oil affects the price of the Canadian dollar. Hence, USDCAD trades in inverse proportion to oil. In June, the pair split from oil as the two assets started moving in the same direction.

The upbeat stock market rekindled economic hopes and allowed dollar buyers to rest on Wednesday. This gave added strength to the price of WTI crude, a key Canadian export product, which posted the strongest daily gain since April.

However, the increase in the official oil reserves, published by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), by + 2.11 mln. Against the forecast of -4.46 mln. And -7.89 mln. Earlier, it affected oil prices. In addition, the escalation of Delta covid variants with multi-day high infection rates in Australia and Tokyo, not to mention the gradual increase in daily cases in the UK and China, is putting additional pressure on USDCAD prices.

During the Asian session on Thursday, USDCAD rallied around 1.2580, gaining 0.20% during the day. The Canadian dollar pair fell the most in six weeks on the previous day, marking a two-day drop before turning back from a weekly low during the day.

USDCAD Bounces Back, Snaps Two-Day Decline

During Thursday’s session, the USDCAD trades around 1.2580, up 0.20 percent intraday. The previous day, the loonie pair fell to its lowest level in over six weeks, marking the start of a two-day decline, before reversing from the weekly low thus far during the day.

Although the US Dollar Index (DXY) is still trading sideways after retreating from a three-month high, the recent drop in oil prices appears to have helped USDCAD investors. It’s worth noting that the pair’s recent performance could be linked to their recent weakness in Australia, which coincides with the coronavirus outbreak.

Concerns about the potential economic consequences of the emergence of the highly contagious Delta version of the coronavirus appeared to have faded. This was evidenced by a generally upbeat mood in the stock markets, which reduced demand for conventional safe-haven currencies like the dollar. The overnight strong rebound in crude oil prices, on the other hand, continued to boost the commodity-linked loonie and helped to hold any major gains for the USD/CAD pair.