Euro loses its power as Covid cases surge in Europe

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

US Dollar             1.2650-1.2750

Euro                     1.4200-1.4300

Sterling                1.6900-1.7000

The US Dollar index is stronger this morning as the Euro has dropped quite a bit over the last 24 hours in the face of a surge in cases of the virus in what German Chancellor Merkel has described as the worst Germany has yet seen. In the face of violent protests European governments are deciding what levels of lockdowns will be required in the face of very poor rates of vaccinations. It is being reported by the World Health Organization this morning that by March Europe will have over 2.2 million deaths from the virus, with a large percentage after vaccines were released to the public.

Turkey has grabbed the currency market's attention over the last few days as the Turkish Lira has dropped over 15% in recent days, Turkish President Erdogan (who controls the country's central bank) is adamant that he will keep interest rates low in the face of inflation that is rising rapidly at 20%. This kind of inflation will affect the daily lives of most Turkish citizens and will lead to civil unrest going forward.

The Canadian Dollar had a positive 24 hours as USD.CAD opens the day slightly lower than yesterday's high and the Loonie has picked up some gains against the other currencies. What happens today will all depend on the activity south of the border.

It is the day before the Thanksgiving holiday in the US so we have a busy day on the calendar led off buy the Personal Spending and Durable Goods reports and followed on by the minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting, it could be a very volatile day on the markets. After a strong day yesterday US stocks are pointing lower this morning so look for the US Dollar to make some gains.