RTTN: Canadian Dollar Declines As Oil Prices Slide; Retail Sales Eyed
(RTTNews) - The Canadian dollar lost ground against its major rivals in early trading on Tuesday as crude oil, the nation's largest export slumped to a 7-week low. The loonie plummeted to more than a 1-year low against the yen, 7-week low against the US dollar and a 5-day low versus the euro.
As of 6:03 am ET, crude oil for October delivery traded at $72.18 per barrel, down $0.92 from yesterday's close of $73.10. The prices fell as much as $1.08, or 1.3 percent, to $72.02 a barrel earlier in the session.
Traders are now likely to focus on the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute inventories data later today and the Energy Department report on Wednesday. Analysts expect that the U.S. oil supplies probably increased 500,000 barrels last week from 354.2 million in the prior week.
Around 4:10 am ET, the Canadian dollar slumped to below 79.50 against the yen for the first time since July 13, 2009. This was down by more than 1.8 percent from Monday's close of 80.97. The loonie-yen pair is presently worth 79.70 with 78.50 seen as the next likely support level.
The Canadian dollar dropped to a 5-day low of 1.3383 against the euro around 5:35 am ET, compared to yesterday's close of 1.3321. The euro-loonie pair is presently worth 1.3372 with 1.3430 seen as the next likely target level.
The German economy expanded 2.2% between April and June compared to the previous three months, the Federal Statistical Office said today, confirming an earlier estimate.
It followed a 0.5% expansion in the first three months of the year. The growth marks the fastest pace of quarterly expansion in the German economy since the country's reunification in 1991.
On a year-over-year basis, the German economy expanded 4.1%, faster than the 2.1% rise in the preceding quarter. Upon calendar adjustment, the GDP showed a 3.7% increase, in line with the preliminary estimate.
Meanwhile, the new industrial orders received by euro area manufacturers slowed down in June from May but were stronger than expected, official figures showed today. New orders rose by 2.5% in June, slower than the 4.1% growth in May. Economists had forecast a 1.5% increase.
Against the US dollar, the Canadian dollar dipped to a 7-week low of 1.0602 around 6:00 am ET and this may be compared to yesterday's close of 1.0524. On the downside, the loonie may find support around the 1.0680 level. The greenback-loonie pair is presently quoted at 1.0599.
Looking ahead, Statistics Canada is set to release retail figures for June at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect the retail sales to increase 0.3% in June, but the core retail sales are expected to weaken from 3.8% to 1.6%.
Across the boarder, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales for July at 10:00 AM ET. The results of the Richmond Fed's Manufacturing survey for August are also on tap at the same time.
