US Dollar Index Softens; Loonie Struggles Amid Political Uncertainty

Today's expected range for the Canadian Dollar against the major currencies:

US Dollar        1.3600-1.3700

Euro                 1.4850-1.4950

Sterling            1.7650-1.7750

WTI Oil (opening level) $80.95

The US Dollar index is marginally softer this morning as it has given back some of its gains it recorded after the attempted assignation of Trump on the weekend. Some analysts are predicting that this event will boost the chances of Trump getting elected so the Dollar should benefit as tax cuts and higher tariffs would be the order of the day for a Trump administration.

 The Canadian Dollar is off of its worst overnight levels but is still weaker to start the week, USD.CAD opens the day near the 1.3650 (0.7326) level as it did not perform well after the shooting, the Loonie also lost considerable ground against the other currencies so clearly the Loonie is on the back foot at the moment. It would be widely expected that Canada would not do well out of a Trump Presidency so when you add in more Bank of Canada interest rate cuts the long term prognosis for the Loonie is not that encouraging.

 A quiet day on the calendar today with the exception of a speech by Fed Chair Powell today and markets will look for any hints to the number and timing of interest rate cuts this year. In Canada we will get the latest inflation data tomorrow so we may see some movement out of the Loonie as the day goes on.