Trump Talks Down USD; Oil Down on Rig Count

• Donald Trump’s inauguration speech marked a sharply protectionist tone for the American economy during his term; Trump reiterated his pledge to revive US manufacturing by putting America first
• An unnamed White House official reported that President Trump would sign an executive order to renegotiate NAFTA on Monday; Trump also mentioned he would fulfill his promise of pulling the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
• Trump’s “America First” statements and lack of details on promises of tax cuts and fiscal stimulus have caused global stocks to slump Monday morning; Japanese and European equities pushed lower
• The US Dollar Index also moved lower as the USD fell against most majors; investors keenly await the first official Trump administration press briefing at 1:30 PM EST on Monday
• The USD/CAD rate, however, continues to improve as CAD experiences weakness due to lower oil prices
• WTI and crude both fell as increased US oil drilling activity overshadowed news that OPEC and non-OPEC producers were on track to meet output goals
• The Baker Hughes rig count showed that the number of US oil rigs jumped by 29 to 551 last week; this is the largest weekly increase since the rig count began in June and the highest level in 14 months
• Canadian month-on-month wholesale sales showed a 1.1 percent decrease this morning
• There is little data from Canada for the rest of the week; look to US GDP and unemployment claims for movements in the USD/CAD rate this week 

Charts: (1) Canadian Month-on-Month Wholesale Sales