Canadian Dollar Stuck Between Tariffs and Oil

USD/CAD traded with a firmer tone on Tuesday as the Canadian Dollar remained under pressure from the latest U.S. tariff escalation. The U.S. imposed a 50% tariff on a range of Canadian goods tied to disputes over cars, alcohol, and dairy, which immediately complicates Canada’s trade outlook. Normally, elevated oil prices would give the Canadian Dollar a cleaner tailwind, but tariff risk and weaker domestic momentum are making that support less powerful.  

For the BOC, the rate path remains a hold story. The central bank kept rates at 2.25% last week and continues to balance elevated inflation against soft growth and trade uncertainty. Canadian inflation already surprised to the downside this week and is expected to ease if oil and gasoline pressures fade, but that forecast now sits against a more complicated trade backdrop. The Canadian Dollar is stuck between two forces: oil supporting Canada’s terms of trade and tariff risk undermining confidence in the growth outlook. 

USD/CAD Daily Price History

In the above chart, USD/CAD has found follow through in recent weeks after finally breaking out of a multiyear triangle that originated in 2023. In June it was noted that “the first hurdle to validate the bullish breakout is the band of resistance formed by the highs in January, March, and April of this year around 1.3929/66. Through these levels, USD/CAD may have offered the strongest confirmation yet that the near three-year triangle has ceded way to a new bullish trading regime.” Along these lines, USD/CAD’s recent turn higher through its 50-day EMA (exponential moving average) ahead of 1.3929/66 suggests that a series of higher highs and higher lows is emerging. The low carved out by the bullish engulfing bar on July 20 just above 1.4000 may be respected as a turning point in the near-term. That said, a resolution of the fundamental disputes, particularly on tariffs, could override this technical turning point and shift the near-term focus back to the downside.

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