Bank of Canada to end its quantitative easing; global labor market hamstrung by unequal vaccine distribution

After its policy meeting today, the Bank of Canada has decided to take a step further and end quantitative easing. It is now moving into the reinvestment phase, during which it will purchase Government of Canada bonds solely to replace maturing bonds. Domestic data, such as the falling unemployment rate, a rise in retail sales, and high inflation, have been supporting CAD in an uptrend track in October. Moreover, investor risk appetite has been moving higher with the jump in oil prices, as Canada is a major oil producer. USDCAD dropped sharply overnight as CAD grew stronger, but the pair has since then gained back some losses, trading at 1.2372 at press time.

The International Labor Organization said on Wednesday that, working hours lost due to the pandemic in 2021 will be equivalent to 125 million full-time jobs. Unequal distribution of COVID vaccines has led to countries recovering at various speeds. Globally, the number of hours worked is set to be 4.3% less than the pre-pandemic level.