Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) analysts note Canada’s trade deficit widened sharply in February to CAD 5.7 billion, far above expectations, as both exports and imports jumped. They highlight one-off Gold imports, stronger equipment and consumer goods demand, and surging motor vehicle exports.
EUR/USD trades under pressure on Thursday as ongoing Middle East tensions keep the US Dollar (USD) broadly supported, weighing on the Euro (EUR).
MUFG's Senior Currency Analyst Lloyd Chan highlights the Thai Baht (THB) as one of the more vulnerable Asian currencies under sustained high energy prices.
Commerzbank’s Tatha Ghose argues that upcoming Turkish CPI data are largely obsolete given the looming impact of higher energy prices. He expects a strong March monthly print but stresses that external-shock inflation may be treated as transient by FX markets.
On Thursday, the US President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social network a video of a bridge falling in Iran, pressuring Tehran to make a deal.
Futures contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shed a meager half-percent on Thursday, but that number tells almost none of the story. At the session lows, the DJIA was down more than 600 points, the S&P 500 had shed 1.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite was off 2.2%.
DBS Group Research economist Radhika Rao notes Indonesia’s March inflation eased to 3.5% year-on-year as government stimulus offset base effects and Lebaran-related pressures.
The USD/JPY pair is trading near the 159.40 price region on Thursday, having surged earlier in the day, though price action turned more volatile during the American session as headlines briefly supported risk sentiment.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil rebounds sharply on Thursday, rising more than 8% on the day, as ongoing tensions in the Middle East continue to keep a geopolitical risk premium embedded in prices amid supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.
TD Securities’ Robert Both argues that higher Oil prices will support Canada’s 2026 GDP, but export bottlenecks limit the upside.
United States 4-Week Bill Auction remains at 3.62%
The British Pound retreats during the North American session after US President Donald Trump escalated the conflict, hinting that it will at least extend for two to three weeks. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD trades at 1.32144, down 0.40%.
