Log in to our mid-week North American Markets overview, where we examine the current themes in North America and provide an overview of indices and currency performances.
Trends and themes change fast in the current wild Market environment.
After last week’s look at the end of the world as we know it, as the US Administration threatened to buy Greenland, participants are now switching back to a few immediate risks.
- What happens to the Fed, particularly the dollar, after this afternoon? The 14:00 FOMC Rate Decision could potentially be combined with the announcement of the next Fed Chair.
- Will anything happen with Iran, and how big an impact will it have on Markets?
- Gold is making daily records above $5,000; WTI Oil is trading to new 2026 highs above $63.
- A few banks have issued their warnings regarding a complacent Investor behavior despite geopolitical risks – But we’re in the dip-buying age in investing so let’s see how this plays out.
The US dollar has been attracting quite a bit of attention in the past few weeks after tumbling at a record pace.
With the latest EU-US drama, participants are harshly rejecting the Greenback, a trend that is worsening as pre-FOMC low liquidity tends to exaggerate Market moves.
Even after the monday gap down, the US President said “The value of the dollar [..] is doing great”, neglecting the 3% move lower that had happened throughout the past week and creating yet another flash USD sale to 4-year lows.
The effect may reverse over the afternoon as Traders brace for Powell’s Speech at the FOMC press conference.
On the North side of the border, the Bank of Canada just held rates steady at 2.25%, with nothing too new from the Central Bank – the economy is flattening, but nothing alarming.
Governor Macklem mentioned that Canada performed better than preliminary 2025 numbers indicated – the CAD is strengthening but remains just below the USD in daily performance. About 9 bps of a hike are priced through 2026; nothing to see here.
With nothing new in the Rate Decision statement, traders will focus on the upcoming Press Conference. It will be interesting to hear what the Governor has to say about recent geopolitical madness and how it affects Canada’s outlook.