The plunge in oil prices has continued to weigh heavily on commodity-linked assets. Earlier today, the Canadian Dollar dipped versus the US Dollar to its lowest price in 13 years. Analysts say that as a result of the rout in oil prices that Canada’s central bank might decide to ease with a rate cut at its policy meeting next week. Across the Atlantic, the Bank of England will today decide on its latest policy movement. Though the BoE does typically follow the lead of the Federal Reserve, the latest consensus of experts has the central bank leaving interest rates at their current levels.
As reported at 10:48 am (GMT) in London, the USD/CAD pair was trading at C$1.4373, a gain of 0.20%; the pair has ranged from C$1.4339 to C$1.4397 in today’s trading session. The GBP/USD pair was lower at $1.4367, down 0.39%; currently, the pair is only a few pips from the session low of $1.4360 while the day’s high was at $1.4424.
US Retail Sales Loom
Looking ahead, markets will watch for the US Retails Sales figure release which comes out tomorrow. Analysts are expecting to see a decline in December’s figures, but any positive surprise could boost the greenback. Given that the US economy is driven by consumer spending, this number could help assess the possible picture for first quarter GDP.
