​VBCE Daily Foreign Exchange Update for Thursday, Dec. 1st, 2016

USDCAD spot rate: 1.3390 - 1.3395 (as at 8:28am PST)

Technical Support / Resistance:

Key Economic Data Releases:

- US ISM mfg. PMI 53.2 (52.2 exp.) 51.9 previous

- U.S. Initial Jobless Claims 268k (253K exp.) 251K previous)

- CAD mfg. PMI 51.5 51.1 previous

Key Event Calendar:

Oil swept to a six-week high on Thursday, lifting energy shares in its slipstream, after OPEC agreed to cut crude output to clear a glut, while bond yields rose on prospects that resulting inflationary pressures will lead to higher interest rates. European stocks slipped into the red, however, shrugging off the bounce in Asian shares and following Wall Street's slight decline the previous day instead. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Wednesday agreed to its first output cut since 2008, finally taking action after global oil prices fell by more than half in the last two years. Non-OPEC Russia will also join output reductions for the first time in 15 years. U.S. crude oil added to overnight gains of 9 per cent to reach $50.00 a barrel for the first time since October. Brent crude, which soared $4 overnight, touched a six-week peak of $52.73 a barrel. The jump in oil prices added to inflation expectations in the United States, which were already rising on prospects that president-elect Donald Trump would adopt reflationary policies using a large fiscal stimulus. Currently, the TSX is up 0.16% and the Dow is up 0.35%. EURCAD is down 0.37% trading between 1.4165 and 1.4270. GBPCAD is up 0.42% trading between 1.6765 and 1.6980. JPYCAD is down 0.53% trading between 0.01167 and 0.01175. Gold is down 0.893% trading between $1,161 and $1,177USD/oz., silver is down 0.59% trading between $16.27 and $16.59USD/oz., while oil is up 3.50% trading between $48.93 and $51.02.

Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg, FXStreet, RBC Capital Markets, Bank of Canada, U.S. Federal Reserve, CNBC, Forexlive, CME Group