- Trump’s threat to fire Powell tanks greenback.
- China Leaves benchmark rates unchanged
- US dives across the board.
USDCAD: open 1.3797, overnight range 1.3781-1.3851, close 1.3848, WTI 62.14 Gold 3394.83.
The Canadian dollar soared in extremely thin overnight trading as most of the major trading centers were closed for Easter Monday. Those closures include the UK, the Eurozone, Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand.
It is Trump’s ongoing criticism of Fed Chair Powell that is spooking traders. The President is very annoyed with Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates. Thursday afternoon, Trump said, “If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me.”
Mr. Powell is very concerned about the impact of Trump’s tariff strategy. He fears it will trigger another inflation wave, which is why he is content to leave monetary policy unchanged until more data is available. Powell’s possible termination combined with the rising risk of a US recession triggered US dollar selling, albeit in thin markets. The US Dollar Index dropped sharply from Friday’s high of 99.78 to 97.92.
Oil prices slipped, with WTI falling from 63.42 to 62.09, weighed by US dollar softness and headlines suggesting progress in US-Iran nuclear discussions. An agreement would unleash more crude into a market already wrestling with demand-side pressure from tariff-induced slowdowns.
There are no top-tier economic releases from Canada or the US today. In Canada, it’s a federal holiday but not a statutory one, so closures vary. Schools are closed in BC and Ontario, while Quebec shuts government offices.
Markets may perk up later this week with earnings from Meta, Alphabet, and Tesla. For now, S&P 500 futures are down 1.04%, while gold climbed, with XAUUSD touching 3,397.87.
EURUSD traded in a 1.1393–1.1574 range and extended gains through the Asia and European sessions before steadying in early New York. US recession risks, China trade tensions, and Trump’s threat to dismiss Powell all helped drive the euro higher.
GBPUSD ranged between 1.3278–1.3422 and mirrored the euro’s trajectory, supported by the same combination of US dollar negativity and risk-driven moves.
USDJPY retreated in a 140.48–142.14 range with prices weighed down by safe-haven demand for the yen. In addition, tariff anxiety pushed Japan’s Topix index down 1.18%.
AUDUSD moved between 0.6370–0.6438 and rose thanks to general US dollar weakness. Supportive Chinese equity markets and stable lending rates from China gave the Aussie an extra lift.
