By ForexMansion.com
The USD/CAD pair declined during last week, where a combination of rising risk appetite amid optimism over the outlook for both the United States and Canada economies boosted confidence over the recovery process, where data from both economies suggested the recovery process is strengthening, in addition to rising energy prices, which provided the Canadian dollar with strength to lead the USD/CAD pair lower.
The lack of economic news this week from the United States will lead investors and traders to focus on Canada’s fundamentals, in addition to other global events including the political unrest in the Arab world, which continues to push oil prices higher.
Highlights for this week that will probably affect the USD/CAD pair’s direction are:
Tuesday 14:00, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Composite will be released for the month of March, where the index expanded at 59.7 back in February, and median estimates suggest that services activities continued to expand in March to reach 59.9.
Tuesday 18:00, the FOMC Minutes will be released, where the FOMC is not expected to change the outlook, since economic activities in the United States remained rather the same, although we expect the Fed to signal an ongoing improvement in economic conditions, while also expressing concerns about rising energy prices.
Wednesday 14:00, Canada will release the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index for the month of March, where the Ivey PMI expanded at 69.3 in February, however, median estimates suggest that activities eased in March to reach 65.0; however, the index is still showing expansion.
Thursday 12:30, the building permits index will be released for the month of February, where the index declined in January by 5.1 percent, and expectations show that building permits declined by 0.3% in February.
Thursday 12:30, the U.S. Labor Department will release the weekly jobless claims, where conditions in the labor market seem to have improved recently, and jobless claims are expected to reflect that improvement, where jobless claims are expected to drop to 384K from 388K reported last week.
Friday 11:00, Canada will release the jobs report for the month of March, where the net change in employment is expected to show that 31.0K jobs were added in March following the prior added 15.1K jobs in February, while unemployment is expected to drop in March to 7.7% from 7.8% back in February.
Friday 12:15, Canada will release the housing starts for the month of March, where housing starts came in at 181.9K back I February and are expected to rise further in March to reach 183.5K.
Originally posted here
