Canadian Dollar Peaks on Inflation, BoC Outlook
Solid ECN – The Canadian dollar rose past 1.33 against the USD in December, reaching its highest level since early August. This increase is due to ongoing high inflation in Canada, leading to expectations that the Bank of Canada might take a more aggressive approach in its monetary policy. In November, the main inflation rate was at 3.1%, higher than the expected 2.9%. The closely watched core rate, which removes certain items, was at 3.5%, also higher than predicted.
This data supports the central bank's concern about continuing high inflation, suggesting they might keep their strict monetary policy and possibly raise interest rates. This is different from the more cautious approach of the Federal Reserve, which helped the Canadian dollar gain value against the US dollar.
Early reports for November show that Canada's economy grew compared to the previous month. However, updated figures for October indicate the economy didn't grow much, which is in line with the Bank of Canada's predictions for the economy.