When is Canada’s GDP released and how could it affect USD/CAD?

Canadian GDP Forecast

Highlights on Wednesday’s economic agenda are the release of Canadian monthly GDP growth figures for March, due at 12:30 GMT. Statistics Canada will also publish quarterly growth figures, making them more meaningful than those that only include monthly data. Consensus estimates suggest the economy contracted 0.1% during the reporting month and posted 0.4% growth in the first quarter of 2023. On an annualized basis, the economy is projected to have expanded 2.9%.

How could it affect USD/CAD?

Awaiting the release of key macroeconomic data, the USD/CAD pair rises for the second day in a row and is close to the monthly high reached last week. Oil prices continue to lose and fall to a new multi-week low on Wednesday, which, in turn, undermines the commodity-linked CAD. acting as a tailwind for the pair. Weaker Canadian GDP could put additional downward pressure on the national currency and pave the way for further near-term appreciation of the cross..

Meanwhile, market reaction to stronger data is likely to be limited, against a backdrop of resurgent demand for the US dollar (USD), bolstered by expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will keep rates high for longer. time. This, coupled with concerns about a global economic slowdown, could continue to fuel some safe-haven flows into the dollar and suggests that the path of least resistance for USD/CAD is to the upside. Therefore, any intraday pullback could continue to be viewed as a buying opportunity and remain muted for the time being.

About the GDP of Canada

The Gross Domestic Product published by Statistics Canada is a measure of the total value of all goods and services produced by Canada. GDP is considered a broad measure of the activity and health of the Canadian economy. Generally speaking, an uptrend has a positive effect on the CAD, while a downtrend is considered negative (or bearish) for the CAD.