The Euro eased against the Canadian Dollar on Friday due to the release of positive inflation and retail sales data out of the North American nation.
The ‘Loonie’ gained some ground after expectations of a further interest rate by the Bank of Canada eased following the positive data releases.
According to Statistics Canada, the nation’s core consumer price inflation rose by 0.7% in February, beating forecasts for a rise of 0.5%. The figure adds to January’s rise of 0.2%. Consumer price inflation which includes volatile goods rose by 0.8% compared to expectations for an increase of 0.6%.
Also bolstering the Canadian currency was the release of a separate report which showed that retail sales in the country increased more than expected. Sales excluding cars climbed by 1% in January, better than the 0.9% forecast. Overall sales climbed by 1.3%, smashing expectations for a rise of just 0.8%.
“It’s going to moderate some of the view that there’s a cut in the Bank of Canada going forward. The Bank of Canada is unlikely to cut rates, but definitely unlikely to raise rates,” said the managing director of foreign exchange at National Bank of Canada in a phone interview with Bloomberg.
The Euro did manage to find some support later in the session after data showed that consumer confidence across the currency bloc fell less than economists had been expecting this month.
According to the European Commission, confidence fell to an annual rate of -9.3, down from the -12.7 seen last month. Economists had forecast for a fall of -12.3.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Euro,
,US Dollar,1.3806 ,
Euro,,British Pound,0.8371 ,
Euro,,Australian Dollar,1.5203 ,
Euro,,Canadian Dollar,1.5478 ,
[/table]
