U.S. Thanksgiving, U.S. equity markets closed, Cad a little better

On average the Canadian dollar gains to the USD on Thanksgiving, and today is no exception, the continued strength is a result of investors starting to question how many times the Federal Reserve can raise interest rates in 2019 without risking a slowdown in the U.S. economy, which has held up so far as borrowing costs have risen. The median analyst forecast is for three more increases next year, taking the federal funds rate to 3.00 to 3.25 percent by the end of 2019. However, the third rate rise is a close call. The Bank of  Canada has yet to respond as what its full intentions are, the sudden drop in oil prices has left Western Canada’s economy in doubt, there fore it may have to put rates on hold till sometime next year as oil prices hopefully rise to recent highs, or some form of pipeline is place either to the West Coast or past Oklahoma in the USA.