Tax due dates, credits and more: Your 2024 income tax return guide + MORE Mar 4th
What does a weak Canadian dollar mean for your savings?
– moneysense.ca
It’s the financial news story that everyone is talking about: The Canadian-to-U.S.-dollar exchange rate has been very unfavourable for the loonie lately.
How unfavourable? Since the beginning of the year, the Canadian dollar’s trading value has fluctuated between roughly USD$0.69 and $0.70—something not seen since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in early 2020. By comparison, as recently as late September 2024, the Canadian dollar was worth about USD$0.74.
Most obviously, this puts Canadian consumers at a disadvantage when they’re cross-border shopping, making online purchases from U.S.-based retailers and independent sellers, or travelling to the United States or countries where the U.S. dollar is widely accepted. While many Canadians are switching gears to avoid travel down south and/or focus more on buying Canadian-made goods, there are some expenses that can’t be avoided entirely.
For those situations, holding U.S. dollars can offer more predictability for budgeting and lessen the impact of fluctuations or a further decline in the Canadian dollar, particularly for large transactions…
