Canadian Dollar Unaffected by Political Turmoil

Earlier this week, the Canadian government received a vote of no-confidence, effectively bringing an end to months of allegations that Canada’s ruling Liberal Party was corrupt. As a result, the Canadian Parliament will be dissolved, and a snap election will be held at the end of January. In the past, currency traders have responded to episodes of political uncertainty be selling that nation’s currency. In this case, however, the Canadian Dollar was virtually unaffected. Canada’s economy continues to outperform on the heels of strong exports and lofty commodity prices, and its Central Bank is set to hike interest rates again next week. Reuters reports:

“With underlying support for the loonie from developing M&A deals, the geopolitical risks are still seen as taking a backseat to positive flows and fundamentals,” said [a senior currency strategist.]

Read More: Canadian dollar helped by GDP data, energy prices

Canadian Dollar Unaffected by Political Turmoil

Earlier this week, the Canadian government received a vote of no-confidence, effectively bringing an end to months of allegations that Canada’s ruling Liberal Party was corrupt. As a result, the Canadian Parliament will be dissolved, and a snap election will be held at the end of January. In the past, currency traders have responded to episodes of political uncertainty be selling that nation’s currency. In this case, however, the Canadian Dollar was virtually unaffected. Canada’s economy continues to outperform on the heels of strong exports and lofty commodity prices, and its Central Bank is set to hike interest rates again next week. Reuters reports:

“With underlying support for the loonie from developing M&A deals, the geopolitical risks are still seen as taking a backseat to positive flows and fundamentals,” said [a senior currency strategist.]

Read More: Canadian dollar helped by GDP data, energy prices

US fails to mention China in currency Report

The US Treasury Department finally released its annual currency report; which contained a notable absence: China. Politicians and lobbyists were outraged that the Bush Administration did use the report to formally accuse China of manipulating its currency. Senators Schumer and Graham are already threatening to reintroduce a bill that would slap a 27.5% tariff on all imports from China. Secretary of the Treasury, John Snow, tried to brush off criticism that the administration was being too soft on China, by publicly urging

Canadian Dollar Continues to Appreciate

Canada’s economy grew at 3.8% in 2005 Q3, marking its fastest quarter of growth in over a year. The Canadian economy has historically been driven by exports of commodities. In this latest quarter, however, retail sales data indicate consumers have started to pick up some of the slack in the economy. As a result, Canada’s Central Bank has hinted that it will further raise short term interest rates from the current level of 3%. Currency strategists will likely remain bullish on the Canadian Dollar, as longs as its economy continues to hum and the differential between Canadian and US interest rates continues to narrow. Bloomberg News reports:

Yields on interest-rate futures indicate traders expect the central bank will raise its benchmark rate a quarter percentage point…on Dec. 6 and Jan. 24. The yield on the March futures contract was 3.86 percent, about the highest this year.

Read More: Canada’s Dollar Poised for Biggest Weekly Advance Since July

China inches towards further revaluation

Perhaps in response to recent pressure from American politicians and the IMF, the Central Bank of China made another push towards floating the Yuan by introducing foreign exchange swaps. Swaps function like futures, by enabling partied to buy and sell currencies at a fixed exchange rate on a fixed date in the future. In this case, the Central Bank has agreed to buy USD one year from now at a rate of 7.85 Yuan/USD. Investors and analysts are speculating that the swaps lend explicit insight into where the Central Bank

IMF presses China on Yuan

Last week, this correspondent reported that American politicians, frustrated by their inability to convince China to further revalue the Yuan, were planning on using the IMF as a vehicle for applying pressure to China. Yesterday, the IMF fulfilled this request during a conference call with Chinese officials. IMF representatives referred to the Yuan’s marginal .33% rise since the July revaluation in their plea for China to

US to pressure China via IMF

Despite its best efforts, the US has not any success in convincing China to further appreciate the Yuan, since the monumental revaluation in July. Meanwhile, American politicians are toying with the idea of legislating a tariff on all Chinese imports, and trade groups are lobbying for the Treasury Department to officially label China a ‘serial currency manipulator.’ Lately, however, those in favor of Yuan revaluation have embarked on a new strategy, by attempting to enlist the help of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) in applying

Bush to urge China to revalue Yuan

Next week, George Bush will visit China as part of his week-long junket to Asia, in which it is expected he will personally urge Hu Jintao, Prime Minister of China, to continue revaluing his nation’s currency. Bush is under pressure from unions and trade lobbyists, who allege China’s artificially cheap currency is responsible for the outsourcing of millions of jobs. American politicians are demanding that Bush give China an ultimatum: either revalue, or face the consequences, in the form of tariffs and other trade restrictions. In addition, the