USD Up Against All Major Currencies; CAD Lowers

• Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz issued a dovish statement regarding the Canadian economy yesterday, leaving interest rates at 0.5%; Poloz reiterated warnings about significant uncertainties in the Canadian economy
• Canadian GDP showed a 0.3% growth month-on-month as forecasted, however, this growth will do little to quell Poloz’s worries around labour market weakness, struggling export competiveness and growing divergence from a strong US economy
• US Unemployment Claims showed a better reading than forecasted (223k claims vs. an expected 243k); this fresh data continues to support the Fed’s view that the US is closing in on full employment
• Fed Governor Lael Brainard commented yesterday that an improving global economy and strong US recovery will make it “appropriate soon” for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates
• Brainard joins many hawkish Fed officials who indicated this week that interest rates may rise as soon as March; futures traders are now pricing in around a 75% chance of rate hike in March, up from 25% earlier this week
• Oil prices fell nearly 1.5% this morning as US crude stocks hit an all-time high while official data showed that Russia made no further cuts in February; US crude inventories increased by 1.5 million barrels to a record of 520.2 million barrels