Macro Headlines Dominate Price Action

With a fairly light data day heading into the weekend, the focus of markets thus far has been macroeconomic commentary. Continuing with the euro saga, reports are just hitting the wires that Spain's region of Catalonia will need government assistance in refinancing its debt this year. The President of the Catalan region has asked for help paying bills by the end of the month, citing the region will run into trouble scrounging for cash. The region of Catalonia represents one fifth of the Spanish economy, and has not only its deficit, but an additional €13Bn to refinance this year.

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The Loonie is leaking lower on the back of risk appetite losing steam after the report, pushing the USDCAD pair closer to the 1.03 mark. The one notable North American data release for today is Revised University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, and while a material difference from the preliminary release of 77.8 could provide a short-term directional spike, the influence on USDCAD and overall investor sentiment will most likely be muted, content to focus on headlines from the euro zone.

As we close out the week, trading activity due to position-squaring heading into the US Memorial Day long weekend could provide some choppy moves, so make sure you contact your dealing teams to discuss the use of limit orders and stop-losses to capitalize on the potential for volatile price swings.

Have a great weekend!