Euro surges as the EU shares some positive energy news

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

US Dollar             1.2950-1.3050

Euro                     1.3000-1.3100

Sterling                1.5250-1.5350

WTI Oil (opening level) $93.50

The US Dollar index is marginally weaker this morning as some positive energy news out of Europe helped push the Euro back above the parity level against the US Dollar. The EU announced that natural gas reserves have reached 80% of their capacity which won't bring an end to the crisis but will help the EU through the winter. EUR.USD moved back above the 1.0000 level overnight to trade as high as 1.0050 before pulling back lower later this morning. Stock markets also liked this good news as after two days of big drops most stock markets recovered a little overnight.

The Canadian Dollar has held steady around the 1.3000 (0.7692) level as the currency pair fell from the overnight high due to the weaker US Dollar. Stocks in Canada like the rest of the world continue to get hammered on the expectation that the Bank of Canada will continue to aggressively increase interest rates which will put our economy into recession very quickly. The Loonie should remain near current levels as we await tomorrow's Q2 GDP report and get a clearer picture on just where the economy is heading.

Nothing of major importance on the calendar today, North American stock markets are poised to pullback some of their losses early on but they remain susceptible to any negative news and volatility will continue to be at a high level.