Canada was expected to report a growth rate of 0.2% in March, the last month of Q1. In addition, this came on top of a revised 0.1% slide in February, worse than flat originally reported.
USD/CAD jumped from 1.2430 to above 1.25 on this fall. The new high is 1.2517.
Quarterly annualized GDP was bad as well: a contraction of 0.6% instead of +0.3% expected. Both business investments and exports were negative and consumer spending did not excel either.
Like in the US, Canada suffered bad weather during the first quarter, and like in the US, the central bank had already acknowledged this weakness and expressed optimism for the future.
But at the moment, the C$ is certainly taking a beating.
The pair is also pushed higher by the better than expected US GDP report – the revised figure for Q1 was not a total disaster.
The Canadian dollar has gone a long way down since USD/CAD traded under 1.20. The recent rise is backed by a stabilization in the recovery of oil prices.
More: Bank of Canada Limits Canadian Dollar Upside Potential
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