On Monday during Asian trading, USD/CAD hit 1.4191, its highest level in 14 months, showing that traders are paying up for the US Dollar while marking down the Canadian Dollar 14-month low story as a crude, rates, and geopolitics trade all at once.
The pair traded around 1.4190 for a fifth straight day of gains, according to FXStreet. That timing matters. The move came after a hawkish Federal Reserve message, fresh uncertainty around a US-Iran peace deal, and a slide in oil prices, the exact mix that tends to hurt Canada-linked currency exposure.
Monday’s USD/CAD move says traders want safety more than Canada risk
The Canadian Dollar 14-month low is not a mystery. The loonie is facing three pressures at the same time:
- Dollar demand: The US Dollar is drawing safe-haven flows as traders reassess geopolitical risk.
- Oil weakness: Crude gave back daily gains, removing a usual support for the commodity-linked CAD.
- Rate divergence: The Federal Reserve kept rates steady last week, but its tone was hawkish enough that 9 out of 19 Fed policymakers now project at least one rate hike this year.
A fifth consecutive daily gain in USD/CAD changes the character of the move. One or two sessions can be dismissed as noise. Five sessions suggest a cleaner macro narrative has taken hold. In this case, the market is treating the loonie less as a standalone Canada story and more as the weak side of a broader dollar bid.
That fits with related market stress we tracked in Oil Slide Pins Canadian Dollar as USD/CAD Hits 1.4140, where crude weakness had already started to pin the loonie before Monday’s extension.
The numbers behind the Canadian Dollar’s 14-month low against the US Dollar
The headline level is simple: USD/CAD near 1.4190 means one US Dollar buys about 1.4190 Canadian Dollars. A higher rate means the Canadian currency is weakening against the greenback.
Recent levels show how fast the move has built:
| Date or session | USD/CAD level cited | Market signal |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | 1.4135, after touching 1.4146 | Weakest intraday level since April last year, per The Globe and Mail source material |
| Friday | 1.4180, after touching 1.4183 | Seventh straight daily decline for the loonie, per Reuters source material |
| Monday Asian hours | Around 1.4190, high of 1.4191 | Fresh 14-month high for USD/CAD, per FXStreet |
The supplied source material does not support claims about stop orders, option interest, or validated resistance bands around 1.4200. Still, the market’s proximity to that round number matters psychologically. A sustained move above it would show that buyers are still comfortable adding dollar exposure after five straight sessions of gains.
The pullback case is also straightforward, but not yet confirmed. It would likely need a shift in one of the three inputs now driving the move: stronger oil, calmer geopolitics, or a softer US Dollar after economic data or Fed repricing.
Oil’s drop cuts into the loonie’s usual support system
Canada’s currency often takes cues from crude because oil is one of Canada’s major exports. FXStreet’s source material frames the Canadian Dollar as commodity-linked and says softer oil prices pressured CAD as crude surrendered daily gains.
The latest oil move has a geopolitical twist. Crude had initially been supported by Middle East risk, but it gave back gains after mediators Qatar and Pakistan announced from Switzerland that both sides had agreed to a formal roadmap aimed at securing a final peace agreement within the next 60 days.
That is the awkward part for the loonie. Middle East stress can sometimes lift oil, which can help CAD. But the current market response shows traders giving more weight to dollar safety and lower crude prices than to any commodity support.
Reuters source material adds that US crude oil had fallen about 9% since last Friday, while Monex Europe analysts said:
“With the war premium draining out of oil and the Fed leaning hawkish, we expect USD-CAD to hold its gains above 1.40 into the weekend.”
That quote captures the trade well. Oil is no longer cushioning CAD. It is adding pressure.
US-Iran peace deal doubts pushed money back into the dollar
The geopolitical trigger is messy, and markets hate messy.
The supplied source material points to uncertainty around the US-Iran peace framework rather than a clean risk-on signal. For currency traders, that was enough. Even without a confirmed breakdown in diplomacy, doubts around the durability of any agreement kept safe-haven demand pointed toward the US Dollar.
That is exactly why the greenback caught a bid. Traders do not need every diplomatic detail to be settled before reducing risk. They only need enough uncertainty to prefer the most liquid currency position available.
This also explains why the Canadian Dollar sold off even though Middle East risk can sometimes support crude. The currency market chose the safer, broader trade: buy dollars, sell commodity-sensitive currencies. We saw a similar fear-versus-dollar dynamic in related cross-asset coverage of Bitcoin Breaks $63K as Peace Deal Bounce Unravels Fast, where geopolitical headlines also fed directly into risk appetite.
Canada’s CPI release is the next local test for a global move
Canada’s Consumer Price Index data is due later in the North American session, according to FXStreet. That makes Monday’s move more than a geopolitics story.
A hot CPI print could affect expectations around the Bank of Canada, since inflation and interest-rate expectations are central inputs for the Canadian Dollar. A weak print would leave the loonie more exposed to the current external pressures: oil, US Dollar strength, and Fed pricing.
Domestic data has already looked uneven. Reuters source material showed Canada’s retail sales rose 0.5% in April from March, but core retail sales fell for a second straight month, down 0.7%. A preliminary estimate showed sales up 1% in May.
TD Economics’ Maria Solovieva framed the April data this way:
“April's report suggests that inflation continued to support nominal retail sales, while underlying demand remained subdued.”
That matters because a weaker loonie can complicate the inflation picture through import costs, while softer domestic demand argues against assuming Canada can simply absorb tighter financial conditions. XOOMAR analysis: for companies with US-dollar costs, the exchange-rate move is already a margin issue. For consumers buying US goods or traveling across the border, the arithmetic is just as direct.
This selloff has more than one driver, and that makes it harder to fade
The current Canadian Dollar 14-month low is not being driven by a single headline. That is what makes it more durable.
The Globe and Mail source material said Canada’s 2-year yield fell 3.1 basis points further below its US equivalent, widening the gap to 137 basis points, the widest spread since May 2025. It also cited broader pressure from falling oil and trade uncertainty.
Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay, put the rate-differential point bluntly:
“Every major currency is down against the greenback as traders ignore domestic developments and follow rate differentials.”
The loonie is acting like a hybrid asset: part G10 currency, part crude proxy, part risk barometer. When all three channels turn negative together, rebounds usually need a cleaner catalyst than “it has fallen a lot.”
The next test is whether USD/CAD can stay firm after CPI and oil headlines
The base case from the supplied data is clear: USD/CAD remains supported while oil stays weak, the Fed sounds hawkish, and US-Iran uncertainty keeps safe-haven demand alive.
A stronger dollar scenario would need confirmation from price action above the current 1.4190 area, continued pressure in crude, and no calming signal from diplomacy. A reversal would need evidence too: a rebound in oil, clearer progress on the peace framework, or US data that weakens the dollar enough to offset Canada-specific pressure.
For investors and businesses, this is not a currency move to ignore. It feeds into trade costs, portfolio translation, and inflation expectations. The next read comes from Canada’s CPI release, but the larger test is whether the market keeps treating the loonie as a casualty of dollar strength rather than a currency waiting for one good domestic data point to recover.
Disclaimer: This XOOMAR analysis is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not financial, investment, legal, tax, or professional advice. It does not provide buy, sell, hold, price-target, portfolio, or personalized recommendations. Verify information independently and consult qualified professionals before making decisions.
The Bottom Line
- A weaker Canadian Dollar can raise import costs and affect cross-border purchasing power.
- Oil weakness is removing a key support for Canada’s commodity-linked currency.
- Hawkish Fed signals and geopolitical uncertainty are reinforcing demand for the US Dollar.
Originally published on XOOMAR. For more news and analysis, visit XOOMAR.
