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Market Brief, North America

Canadian Dollar Drops as Traders Question Rate Hike Sustainability

The Canadian dollar is trading on a slightly weaker footing after Statistics Canada reported the first loss of jobs in nine months, suggesting that the economy was beginning to struggle with higher borrowing costs ahead of this week’s rate hike. The country lost 17,300 jobs in May and the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.2 percent from 5.0 percent as the part-time, self-employed, and services sector categories moved into contraction. The number of hours worked (sometimes a better read of underlying conditions) fell 0.4 percent month-over-month, and wages grew 5.1 percent year-over-year, down from 5.2 percent in the prior month. We think the...

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Canadian Central Bank Hawkishness Supports Both North American Dollars

It’s the summer of 2023, and Canada’s biggest exports are wildfire smoke and higher interest rates. Yields are up across most developed economies after the Bank of Canada joined the Reserve Bank of Australia in demonstrating that central bank monetary tightening cycles aren’t yet complete. Equity futures are holding steady, short-term Treasury yields remain elevated, and the dollar is holding yesterday’s against most of its major rivals. The Canadian dollar is only incrementally higher after the central bank opted to raise rates, suggesting that market conviction was low and investors were well prepared ahead of the decision – but also that...

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Rangebound Markets Await Bank of Canada Decision

With a paucity of potential volatility catalysts on the week’s calendar, markets remain broadly rangebound this morning. Equity futures are inching down ahead of the opening bell, Treasury yields are practically unchanged, and the dollar’s recent gains are fading relative to the euro and pound. Chinese exports fell dramatically in May, suggesting that a long-expected post-pandemic drop in Western goods demand is taking a toll on the world’s second-largest economy. According to data released by the Customs Bureau last night, exports fell -7.5 percent year-over-year in May, well beyond the -0.4 percent consensus, and the worst print since January. The country nonetheless...

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Firming Rate Expectations Push Dollar Higher

With investors increasingly convinced the Federal Reserve will follow through on its “higher for longer” mantra – at least through the latter half of the year – the dollar is kicking another week with solid gains. Firming expectations for a July hike – coupled with a removal of bets on late-year cuts – are tilting rate differentials in the greenback’s favour, with the two-year Treasury yield holding near 4.54 percent, up from 4.06percent at the end of April. The pound, euro, and yen are all on the defensive, failing to break higher as relative growth expectations erode.  Friday’s non-farm payrolls report provided...

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Falling Rate Expectations Snap Dollar’s Momentum

Equity futures and risk-sensitive currencies rose slightly last night after the US Senate passed compromise legislation designed to raise the debt ceiling. The ironically-named Fiscal Responsibility Act, which moved through the voting process with extraordinary speed, will suspend the statutory limit on federal borrowing until January 2024, averting a possible default without imposing major constraints on government spending. The measure is now headed to the president for signature. But the real action came earlier in the day, when a series of data releases combined with increasingly-dovish Federal Reserve rhetoric to put Treasury yields and the dollar under pressure.Following Wednesday’s comments from...

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