Canadian dollar drops after retail sales
USD/CAD is at a one-week high, breaking above yesterday's peak of 1.2557 as oil slides and a terrible retail sales report. Prices are up more than a full cent from pre-North American trading.
TD is out with a note saying the retail report was a "nail in the coffin" for another BOC rate cut. They noted the decline was driven by gasoline and clothing but said the regional breakdown was "atrocious" with every province showing weakness.
The OIS market is pricing in an 85% chance of a cut on March 4, compared to 80% yesterday.
Technically, there isn't much to halt the rise until the downtrend at 1.2610. Keep a close eye on the Baker Hughes data at 1900 GMT for a jolt in oil prices.
