Canada’s monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) prints at 12:30 UTC today, the main scheduled release for the Canadian dollar and the clear focus of the session for CAD-sensitive instruments.
What Canada’s CPI m/m measures
CPI m/m measures the month-over-month change in the price of a fixed basket of consumer goods and services, and it is the most timely read on Canadian inflation. The figure is published by Statistics Canada and is reported as a percentage change from the prior month. Markets watch it closely because inflation momentum feeds directly into Bank of Canada rate expectations, and those expectations are a primary driver of how the loonie is priced against its peers.
The consensus forecast is 0.2%, up from -0.1% in the previous month. A positive forecast following a negative prior print would mark a shift from falling to rising prices on the monthly gauge, which is why this particular reading is drawing attention.
How the CAD pairs are trading
The Canadian dollar enters the release broadly firmer across our feed. EURCAD is the biggest mover, down 0.64% at 1.57812, followed by GBPCAD, off 0.38% at 1.87679 β the euro and sterling crosses are leading the moves.
Among the CAD-base pairs, CADCHF is up 0.26% at 0.58412 and CADJPY is up 0.15% at 111.89. USDCAD is down 0.15% at 1.41146, and NZDCAD is off 0.14% at 0.79770.
The common thread across the board is a modestly stronger loonie in the hours before the data, with the widest swings concentrated in the European crosses.
The CPI figure is watched for whether monthly consumer prices turned higher after the prior month’s decline.
Descriptive market news from the ForexBullion Research Team. Not investment advice.
