USD/CAD tumbles to two-week low after five-day sell-off

• USD/CAD extends five-day losing streak, down nearly 1.30% this week
• Canadian Retail Sales rise 0.8% in March, excluding autos it hit -0.7%.
• The US Dollar sinks to a two-week low amid fiscal concerns and stalled trade talks.

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) strengthens further against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, marking a five-day rally. The USD/CAD is down nearly 1.30% this week, with the pair slipping below the 1.3800 psychological mark to trade near a two-week low as traders reacted to mixed Retail Sales data from Canada.

The Loonie pair was already under pressure earlier in the day due to a broadly weak US Dollar, ahead of the Canadian Retail Sales release. The pair dropped further after the latest figures released by Statistics Canada revealed a stronger-than-expected 0.8% rise in Retail Sales for March, beating the market forecast of 0.7% and a solid rebound from February's downwardly revised -0.5% drop. However, Retail Sales ex Autos surprised to the downside, printing at -0.7% in March from February's 0.6% gain.

These Retail Sales figures suggest that consumer spending is on a downward trajectory when auto sales are excluded, but remains resilient overall.

Reacting to the data, Andrew Grantham, senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets, said, "Canadian consumers haven't tightened the purse strings much, it seems in the face of tariff uncertainty."

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) also draws support amid a broad-based weakness in the USD. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the USD against a basket of six major currencies, slipped to a two-week low to trade near 99.40 during the start of American trading hours. The decline in the US Dollar comes as broader sentiment remains cautious amid mounting US fiscal risks and global tariff uncertainties. US President Donald Trump has proposed a 50% tariff on imports from the European Union starting June 1, citing stalled negotiations between the two sides. Trump also threatened to place 25% tariffs on Apple in order to force the iPhone maker to reshore phone production in the US.