Ella 
In early trading in Asia on Wednesday, USD/CAD broke its four-day losing streak. USD/CAD rebounded on the back of upbeat US employment and consumer confidence data, which boosted the US dollar (USD). The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy meeting on Wednesday will be in focus, with the Fed expected to remain on hold. As of press time, USD/CAD was trading at 1.3405, with an intraday increase of 0.04%.
Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday showed that the number of job openings for JOLTs in the United States unexpectedly rose to 9.026 million in December. This is the first time since September that U.S. job openings have topped 9 million. In addition, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence index was 114.8 in January, compared with the previous value of 108.0, the highest in two years.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) will announce an interest rate decision on Thursday. Investors believe the Fed will keep the federal funds rate steady at a range of 5.25% to 5.5%. After the Fed meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference will be closely watched. Traders will focus on his speech for any hints on the timetable for a rate cut.
Statistics Canada will release November’s gross domestic product (GDP), which is expected to grow at a monthly rate of 0.1%. Canada’s economic growth has stalled since mid-2023 and is likely to remain around zero growth in the first quarter of 2024, the Bank of Canada (BoC) said this week. Stubbornly high core inflation prompted the Bank of Canada last week to keep interest rates at their highest level in 22 years. Meanwhile, rising oil prices due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could limit downside for the commodity-linked Canadian dollar.
