The Canadian dollar is getting whacked by a trifecta of bad news

pulse

May 18, 2018 3:27 PM

The Canadian dollar sank versus the greenback Friday on the back of economic data and after trade negotiators missed House Speaker Paul Ryan's deadline for a new NAFTA deal.

The Canadian dollar was down more than 0.75% against the dollar Friday.
It weakened following a trifecta of news that tends to be negative for the Canadian dollar.

The Canadian dollar sank versus the greenback Friday on the back of weak economic data and after trade negotiators missed House Speaker Paul Ryan's deadline for a new NAFTA deal.

The loonie was down 0.84% to 1.2910 per US dollar at 10:07 a.m. ET.

The country's retail sales jumped the most in five months in March, Statistics Canada data showed Friday, but the rise was driven by auto sales. Without the auto sector, retail sales actually dropped 0.2%.

On top of that, inflation numbers were mostly below or in-line with estimates. Prices rose at a 2.2% year-over-year clip, missing the 2.3% print that economists had predicted. While still above the Bank of Canada's target rate of 2%, the lower-than-anticipated rate raised expectations the central bank will hold rates steady this month.

Uncertainty around a new NAFTA deal is also weighing on the loonie. After the US, Canada, and Mexico missed a Thursday deadline set by Ryan, some worry negotiations could drag into next year.

As the deadline closed in, US trade representative Robert Lighthizer said officials were "nowhere near" a new deal, adding that there remain "gaping differences" on key issues like intellectual property, agricultural market access, and rules of origin.

"We seesome downside risks for MXN and CAD in the short run as the market continues to expect a deal in the weeks to come - against our expectationof a later deal potentially signed in 2019," analysts at Morgan Stanley said.

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