• USD/CAD dips to near 1.3580 amid multiple headwinds.
• Canadian Retail Sales fell by 0.3% in June, as expected, amid weak demand for automobiles.
• Investors await Fed Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium.

The USD/CAD pair slides further to near 1.3580 in Friday’s New York session. The Loonie asset weakens after Statistics Canada reported that monthly Retail Sales data for June came in better than projected.

Monthly Retail Sales contracted consecutively by 0.3%, as expected, due to poor demand for automobiles. While Retail Sales, excluding automobiles, unexpectedly rose by 0.3%. Economists estimated the data to decline by 0.2%. This suggests that households postponed their demand for big-ticket items to avoid higher interest obligations. This would prompt expectations of more interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada (BoC).

Meanwhile, the market sentiment remains favorable for risky assets. S&P 500 futures have posted significant gains in the early American session. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, edges lower to near 101.40.