Forex: USD/CAD – Canada’s dollar strengthens ahead of Bernanke testimony

iNVEZZ.com Wednesday July 17th: Canada’s dollar has been in slow descent through most of the day, as traders await the Congressional appearance of US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. The pair had risen more than 40 pips until a retrace to 1.0355 as the American session got under way.

Ahead of Bernanke’s appearance, scheduled for 15:00 BST, the demand for the USD has decreased after the release of lacklustre US housing stats.
Building Permits fell to 911,000 during June m/m, 7.5 percent below the revised May rate of 985,000, although 16.1 percent above the 785,000 in June last year.
And Housing Starts also fell in June, to 836,000, against forecasts for 960,000 and nearly 10 percent down on the May revision of 928,000 though 10.4 percent up on the 757,000 in June 2012.

Earlier today, the US Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage loan applications were down 2.6 percent in the week ended July 12, against the prior week’s fall of four percent.
Statistics Canada reported that foreign investment in Canadian securities slowed to $6.7 billion in May, with the slide covering all types of securities but especially bonds. For their part, Canadian investors repatriated $1.6 billion in funds from international financial markets in May, led by the sale of US securities.
Next in today’s schedule is the Bank of Canada’s Interest Rate decision and statement at 15:00 BST, to be followed by a press conference scheduled for 16:15 BST.