USD index fell after the comments from the Federal Reserve

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

US Dollar ​1.2450-1.2550

Euro ​​1.4800-1.4900

Sterling ​1.7400-1.7500

Over the last few days the US Dollar Index has been marginally lower as the Federal Reserve indicated that while interest rate hikes are a long way off the Fed may be in a position to talk about a timeline for cutting back stimulus in the near future. Also affecting the markets is the growing fourth wave of the virus, a Chinese government crackdown on their tech industries is pushing Asian stocks much lower and an oil price that is quite volatile on the fears that the fourth wave of the virus will push demand and price lower. Lots to watch out for over the coming weeks.

The Canadian Dollar has held in against the US Dollar but lost a little ground to some of the other currencies. USD.CAD opens the day at the 1.2500 (0.8000) level after trading as low as 1.2440 (0.8039) late last week. Once again, any direction that the Loonie will take will be driven by movement in the US Dollar as the domestic news remains lacking.

Markets should remain fairly steady as we move through the week towards Friday's US and Canadian Employments reports. As the fourth wave grows around the globe you may see Stocks fall back and the US Dollar makes some gains as investors move into safe haven assets.