- USD/CAD appreciates as the commodity-linked CAD remains under pressure amid weaker Oil prices.
- OPEC+ is set to deliberate potential production hikes at its upcoming policy meeting this weekend.
- Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari warned that tariffs are driving up consumer goods costs, contributing to higher inflation readings.
USD/CAD extends its winning streak for the fourth successive session, trading around 1.3810 during the Asian hours on Thursday. The pair appreciates as the commodity-linked Canadian Dollar (CAD) could have faced challenges due to softer crude oil prices.
Reports suggest that OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, will consider fresh production increases at its policy meeting this weekend. The Oil group, seeking to regain market share, could begin unwinding 1.65 million barrels per day of output cuts, equivalent to about 1.6% of global demand.
Additionally, the USD/CAD pair gains ground as the US Dollar (USD) advances ahead of fresh labor market data that could shape the interest rate outlook. Markets await the ADP Employment Change, forecast to indicate slower hiring, along with weekly Jobless Claims expected to rise modestly.
Traders will shift their attention toward Friday’s data that could shape the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy decision in September. Economists project US Nonfarm Payrolls to add about 75,000 jobs in August, while the Unemployment Rate is seen at 4.3%.
The US Dollar (USD) faced challenges as weaker-than-expected July JOLTS Job Openings boosted the odds of the Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut in September. Job openings declined to 7.18 million from 7.35 million, marking the weakest level since September 2024 and missing forecasts of 7.4 million. The CME FedWatch tool indicates a pricing in more than 97% of a 25-basis-point (bps) rate cut by the Fed at the September policy meeting, up from 92% a day ago.
Statistics Canada will release its labor market figures on Friday, with Net Change in Employment expected to see 7.5K jobs added in August, following a decline of 40.8K in the previous month. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate may increase to 7% from 6.9%.
