Exchange Rate Now!

There are many Hong Kongers working and studying in Canada. In major cities like Vancouver and Toronto, it is common to find Chinese who speaks Cantonese, which is the language used nationally by Hong Kong.

With such close ties between these 2 countries (at least for Hong Kongers), the exchange rate between the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD, “Hongkers”) and the Canadian Dollar (CAD, “Loonie”) is therefore something that requires special attention.

The exchange rate between the Hong Kong Dollar compared against the Canadian Dollar is actually simpler than what most people imagine. The Hong Kong Dollar is pegged within a trading band with the US Dollar, with a lower limit of 7.85 HKD = 1 US Dollar and a higher limit of 7.75 HKD = 1 US Dollar. As the variance is small (1.29%), it is usually sufficient for the average Hong Konger to pay attention to just the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Canadian Dollar instead.

The comparison is also made easier by the fact that Canadian Dollar and the US Dollar are (more…)

Besides the physical proximity, there is also something between the United States and Canada that is near to each other - the currencies of both Canada and the United States trade at near parity. Currently, the Canadian Dollar (CAD, also informally known as the “Loonie”) is trading at 92.78 US. Cents (or 1 US Dollar compared to 1.078 Canadian Dollar). At this level, this is one of the best exchange rate for the Canadian Dollar against the US dollar (USD) since Oct 2008.

In fact, against the U.S. dollar in July 2009, Canada is THE best performer amongst the 16 most-active currencies tracked by Bloomberg, gaining a whooping 7.6 percent. This means a 7.6% increase in purchasing power for Canadian tourist travelling to United States!

The Canadian Dollar forecast to be more expensive that the US Dollar in the medium term due to several factors and trend:

1. A greater risk appetite resulting from the recovery of the global financial crisis helped bolster the commodity-linked Canadian Dollar, where raw materials account for more than half of the country’s export revenue (more…)