Last week saw a host of poor data releases in Canada reflecting the state of affairs in the country and also the rest of the world.

Similarly to the US, Canada released its monthly employment figures last week, and again like the US, the figures read much worse than were expected. Payroll figures were expected to drop by 21,000 but actually fell by 71,000 representing the largest drop in 26 years.

Housing figures released for November also showed a slowdown and to a greater extent than expected. New home starts were down 18.8% from 211,800 in October to 172,000 in November and worse than the 194,000 expected.

However, despite the disappointing news from Canada, Sterling remained unable to make any gains against most currencies, including the Loonie. As the economic situation in the UK continues to look evermore bleak and with interest rates cut a further percentage point last week, the Pound’s buying power seems to have been damaged more than all of the other major currencies.

For those buying Canadian Dollars, this week’s interest rate announcement may provide some support for Sterling as the markets are expecting a cut of up to 50bhp. However purchasers should exercise caution as gains may be short lived as the markets are likely to have priced this movement in to a large extent.