The Canadian dollar fell versus the greenback on Monday as data showed that Canadian consumer spending plunged by the most since 1991. Indeed, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales fell for the third straight month at a rate of 5.4 percent, which was far worse than expectations for a 2.7 percent decline, as job losses continue to climb and the economy encounters its first recession in 17 years. As we discussed last week, cheaper oil has extremely negative repercussions for the Canadian economy as a whole. Combined with last Friday’s inflation data, which showed that the annual rate of CPI growth tumbled to a 2-year low of 1.1 percent in January, the odds remain in favor of further rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, even though interest rates are already at a record low of 1 percent.
Related Article: Canadian Dollar Weekly Trading Forecast
**For a full list of upcoming event risk and past releases, go to the DailyFX Calendar.
DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.
Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts from FXCM.
