Ella 
In early Asian trading on Friday, USD/CAD remained weak and was above the 1.3500 mark. The U.S. dollar (USD) fell below the 104.00 mark, weighing on USD/CAD. As of press time, USD/CAD was trading at 1.3523, an intraday decline of 0.05%.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) kept interest rates steady at its March meeting on Wednesday and maintained expectations for three rate cuts this year. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell pointed out at a press conference that the strong job market will not prevent the central bank from cutting interest rates.
On Thursday, the S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index in the United States rose to 52.5 in March from 52.2 in February, higher than the expected value of 51.7. The services purchasing managers’ index in March slowed to 51.7 from the previous value of 52.3, lower than the expected value. 52.0. Finally, the composite PMI for March was 52.2, compared to the previous reading of 52.5.
In the Canadian dollar, a summary of discussions at the Bank of Canada’s (BOC) March meeting showed that the Governing Council agreed that conditions for a rate cut should be achieved this year if the economy continues to develop “in line with the central bank’s forecasts.” However, the timing of the rate cut remains uncertain. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said the bank doesn’t want to move too quickly and regret it later.
Next up, Canadian retail sales for January will be released today, with a monthly rate expected to fall 0.4%. Federal Reserve Chairs Jerome Powell and Michael Barr will speak on Friday.
