USD to CAD : All You Need To Know!
Welcome to another of my foreign exchange sites which this time looks in
detail
at the
usd to cad currency cross. As someone who is self taught, and
trades full time for a living, I know how hard it can be to find
relevant and impartial help and advice. Whether you are looking at
foreign exchange as an investor, perhaps buying into property or
financial assets, or like me from a trading perspective, the right
information about the currency rates, and what affects them is vital for
your decision making. With all my currency sites I try to look at the
currency pair both from a technical perspective on a chart, and also the
macro and micro economic factors that often drive the exchange rates.
I do have several other sites which cover the majors in detail, and as I have covered the US dollar elsewhere, I thought I would concentrate here on the Canadian Dollar, often referred to as the Loonie by currency traders as the coinage bears a picture of the common Loon bird. The nickname initially a slang term, became so widely recognised that on 15th March 2006 the Royal Canadian Mint secured the rights to the name "Loonie"! The three other most widely traded crosses include the EUR/USD , the GBP/USD and the USD/JPY. I make my living from trading in the foreign exchange markets so I hope the information you find here will be useful. All the information is free, as I like to help others learn and am always more than happy to help.
If
you have arrived at this site looking for the latest usd to cad
rates, please just click on the currency converter logo alongside, and a
new window will open. The rates are updated several times a day. If you
are looking to convert US dollars to Canadian dollars ( or visa versa )
please do not use your local bank. You will be charged both commission
and fees, and in addition you will get an awful rate. If you are
changing large sums then this can add up to thousands of dollars
difference in one transaction alone. Please contact a specialist broker
such as HiFX - they will give you a free quote which you can then
compare with your high street bank, and they charge no commission or
fees ( they make their profit from the spread on the currency)
There is one thing I can guarantee, and it is this - your bank will be
more expensive. Finally the worst place of all to exchange your currency
is at the airport, or at an ATM machine overseas, so please plan ahead
if possible!!
USD to CAD : Introduction
Canada
is a major trading nation whose combined value of exports and imports is
the equivalent of more than two-thirds of the country's GDP. Canada
trades with the world but its main trading partner is the United States,
which accounts for roughly three-quarters of trade and the majority of
capital moving in and out of Canada. It is therefore no surprise that
the relationship between the two currencies is very closely linked, and
any change in the economic fundamentals of one country, will have an
immediate effect on the usd to cad exchange rate. When
the one dollar bill gave way to the 'Loonie' coin in 1987, the Canadian
dollar was in the middle of an upward trend against the U.S. dollar.
Lasting the rest of the decade, this upswing was explained by various
factors, including a buoyant economy and a tightening of monetary
policy. The dollar closed the 1980s at a rate of 1.15 usd to cad. The
Canadian Dollar continued to climb against its American counterpart in
the early 1990s, and finally peaked at 1.10 in November 1991, and began
to depreciate thereafter. Weakness in the currency intensified once
again in 1997 and continued for the rest of the decade, despite a strong
Canadian economy. The weakness continued into the new millennium with
the dollar reaching an historic low of 1.60 usd to cad in January 2002.
Since then strength has returned to the Canadian Dollar which currently
stands at just on parity. Having broken through support at the 1.10
level, it seems that this trend may continue for some time to come.
The above chart shows the performance of the usd to cad currency pair over the last twenty years, and as we can see the performance of the Canadian dollar is very much dependant on the climate in the US. If you would like to see a live chart with the current rates, please just follow the link here - usd to cad. For the last few years, the US dollar has been weakening against several of the world's major currencies, a trend that is evident here. However, it would be an over simplification just to look to it's nearest neighbour for a direction on the Canadian currency.
So let's start by looking at the Canadian economy in detail and how this affects the relationship of the usd to cad exchange rates.