Will the difference between Fed and BoC policy rates widen, narrow or remain uncertain? Follow TRADE90's conditional research assessment and source-linked evidence.
The published Fed benchmark is 3.75%–4.00% and the BoC benchmark is 2.50%. The signed USD minus CAD differential is +137.5 basis points.
Calculation: (3.875% − 2.50%) × 100 = 137.5 basis points. The calculation uses the midpoint of the Fed’s target range. A negative result means the quote currency has the higher benchmark; a positive result means the base currency does.
These are published policy benchmarks. Check each bank’s effective date and official source below before using the comparison.
Last checked:Data is checked daily, even when the figures stay unchanged. This time records the latest source check; individual coverage is listed below.Check details & source coverageEconomic data check: 4 Nov 2026, 13:17 UTC (Checked successfully)Bank source scan: 4 Nov 2026, 13:17 UTC (Checked successfully)Rate decision verification: 3/8 banks · Partial coverageSome sources or reviews need attention. See details below.Last benchmark dataset change: 29 Oct 2026See source health and analyst review dates →
Benchmark dataset last changed 29 Oct 2026. Effective dates differ by bank; a successful source check does not necessarily mean a new decision was verified. This is a dated official-policy-rate comparison. Review sources, update frequency and licensing →
ECONOMIC COMPARISON
United States vs Canada
Compare inflation, jobs and growth behind USD/CAD.
Published economic observations, not live prices. Each line keeps its original reporting frequency. Missing observations are not estimated.
Inflation
Headline CPI · year-on-year %
United States · USD3.74%Sept 2026 · Monthly
Canada · CAD3.09%Sept 2026 · Monthly
National headline CPI; euro area uses HICP. Baskets and national methods differ. Quarterly readings remain quarterly.
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average · Trade90 calculates year-on-year percentage change from the source index.
Provider updated: 2026-10-14 8:08 AM CDT Retrieved: 2026-11-04
National headline CPI, all items, year-on-year percentage change (COICOP 1999)
Provider updated: Not supplied by provider Retrieved: 2026-11-04
Canada inflation — selected range
Period
Value
Sept 2026
3.09%
Aug 2026
3.03%
Jul 2026
3.03%
Jun 2026
2.80%
May 2026
3.23%
Apr 2026
2.82%
Mar 2026
2.39%
Feb 2026
1.78%
Jan 2026
2.29%
Dec 2025
2.36%
Nov 2025
2.22%
Oct 2025
2.16%
Sept 2025
2.36%
Aug 2025
1.85%
Jul 2025
1.73%
Jun 2025
1.86%
May 2025
1.73%
Apr 2025
1.74%
Mar 2025
2.32%
Feb 2025
2.64%
Jan 2025
1.90%
Dec 2024
1.83%
Nov 2024
1.89%
Oct 2024
2.02%
Sept 2024
1.64%
Aug 2024
1.95%
Jul 2024
2.53%
Jun 2024
2.67%
May 2024
2.87%
Apr 2024
2.69%
Mar 2024
2.90%
Feb 2024
2.78%
Jan 2024
2.86%
Dec 2023
3.40%
Nov 2023
3.12%
Oct 2023
3.12%
Sept 2023
3.80%
Aug 2023
4.00%
Jul 2023
3.27%
Jun 2023
2.81%
May 2023
3.36%
Apr 2023
4.41%
Mar 2023
4.30%
Feb 2023
5.25%
Jan 2023
5.92%
Dec 2022
6.32%
Nov 2022
6.80%
Oct 2022
6.88%
Sept 2022
6.86%
Aug 2022
7.01%
Jul 2022
7.59%
Jun 2022
8.13%
May 2022
7.73%
Apr 2022
6.77%
Mar 2022
6.66%
Feb 2022
5.69%
Jan 2022
5.14%
Dec 2021
4.80%
Unemployment
% of labour force · seasonally adjusted
United States · USD4.20%Sept 2026 · Monthly
Canada · CAD6.40%Aug 2026 · Monthly
Labour-force survey measure. Euro-area unemployment uses Eurostat’s 21-country aggregate. Switzerland and New Zealand report quarterly; other economies report monthly. UK observations are rolling three-month averages dated to the middle month; age coverage can differ.
Sources: OECD, Eurostat and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, retrieved through official OECD and Eurostat APIs or the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED). Data may be revised. Refresh check: 2026-11-04. Higher or lower readings alone do not determine currency direction.
Cross-country 2Y yield spread withheld: Incompatible yield definitions: government benchmarks and modeled zero-coupon spot rates
Observed: USD , CAD . These are government bond yields, not central-bank policy rates.
Bond yields may react to expectations, liquidity and term premiums. They are not inputs to TRADE90's 90-day policy-rate divergence classification.
Policy calendar · USD/CAD
Next Major Decisions to Watch
The next scheduled monetary-policy announcement for each of the two central banks in this pair. Dates are official schedules, not forecasts of rate increases or cuts.
CAD · BoCScheduled
Policy announcement date
Rate decision
What to watch
Overnight-rate target decision and Monetary Policy Report when scheduled
Schedules checked 15 Oct 2026. Central banks may reschedule meetings or announce unscheduled decisions. For the newest schedule, use the linked official calendars.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH · EDITORIAL REVIEWED
Latest USD/CAD research
Original research will appear here once the analysis, dates and primary sources are verified and approved. Explore the policy and macroeconomic evidence above in the meantime.
Compare what the two central banks have actually communicated. These are dated summaries of official policy, not market-priced rate expectations or trade recommendations.
USD · Fed
Recent rate increase · No fixed future path
Inflation remains elevated after September rate increase
The FOMC increased its target range to 3.75–4.00% and emphasized its 2% inflation objective. The statement did not promise a specific move at the next meeting.
What could change the outlook?
US CPI and employment trends; the next FOMC statement and economic projections
BoC held at 2.25%, with more uncertainty around inflation
The Governing Council kept its overnight target unchanged, said upside inflation risks had increased, and remained prepared to adjust policy as needed. It did not announce a precommitted hike.
What could change the outlook?
Canadian inflation excluding energy, recovery durability and trade-policy effects
Review date: 16 Oct 2026. Different central-bank statements are not directly comparable forecasts. The next policy decision may materially change the guidance.
Official central-bank publications
Central Bank Policy Updates · USD/CAD
Only BoC and Fed: official decisions, minutes and policy publications relevant to USD/CAD. No unrelated currencies.
Last curated review: 15 Oct 2026 · Dated source collection — not a live news feed
4 publications from the two banks in USD/CAD.
CAD · BoCRate decision
BoC raises Target for overnight rate · 2.50%
BoC raised its benchmark rate; Trade90's selected target for overnight rate is 2.50%. Effective from the decision date.
What this publication confirms: Official policy benchmark, not a market-implied future rate.
Fed holds Federal funds target range · 3.75%–4.00%
Fed kept its benchmark rate unchanged; Trade90's selected federal funds target range is 3.75%–4.00%. Effective 2026-10-29. Rate-gap calculations use the 3.875% midpoint.
What this publication confirms: Official policy benchmark, not a market-implied future rate.
Fed publishes minutes from September 15–16 FOMC meeting
The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its September monetary policy meeting. Minutes describe policymakers' discussion at the time of the meeting; they are not a new interest-rate decision or a new forward-rate quote.
What this publication confirms: Meeting discussion, not a fresh rate change.
The Bank of Canada's Governing Council discussed inflation risks, high energy costs, trade uncertainty and economic activity before keeping the overnight target at 2.25%. The record reports deliberations, not a new rate change.
What this publication confirms: The council weighed elevated inflation risks against economic uncertainty.
Links detected from official bank publication channels. A new publication is not necessarily an interest-rate decision and is not a verified policy-rate change.
Loading recent source scan…
Automatically collected links are shown for reference, not verified AI-written summaries or streaming data. For rate and source-quality definitions, see TRADE90's data policy.
INTERPRETATION & SOURCES
What the USD/CAD policy-rate gap means
USD/CAD compares the USD (United States) and CAD (Canada) monetary-policy benchmarks. USD has the higher selected official policy-rate benchmark in Trade90's 29 Oct 2026 snapshot. The signed base-minus-quote gap is +137.5 basis points; this is a comparison of official policy levels, not a currency-price signal.
What could change the relative policy outlook?
For USD, monitor US inflation, payrolls, Fed communications and Treasury-market repricing. For CAD, monitor Canadian inflation, employment and Bank of Canada deliberations. A change in future market expectations may move an exchange rate even while the current official policy gap remains unchanged.
Why this gap is not a trade recommendation
Trade90 compares Federal funds target range midpoint against overnight-rate target. Each country defines its policy benchmark differently. The signed difference is not an FX forward, an investable interest-rate spread, or a broker's overnight swap charge.
Macroeconomic pressure does not guarantee future central-bank decisions. The experimental policy evidence model does not predict spot currency prices. Read the methodology and source and update policy.
View supporting bank evidence and official publications
SOURCE-LINKED RESEARCH · HOW THE MODEL REACHED THIS VIEW
USD/CAD · Economic drivers and central-bank evidence
Underlying policy assessments, offsetting risks, observation periods and official publication links.
Central-bank statement: The FOMC increased its target range to 3.75–4.00% and emphasized its 2% inflation objective. The statement did not promise a specific move at the next meeting. Original statement ↗
Published 2026-09-16 · Review 2026-10-16
Core definitions differ across countries; these are supporting indicators, not separate official targets.
Economic indicators are source-checked, but the prior central-bank commentary is not treated as current.
CAD Central-bank outlook
Policy direction uncertain
Economic pressure: Balanced or conflicting pressure
Automated policy check: assessed · No supported automated direction. Latest recorded benchmark decision directly cross-checked. Recorded official decision ↗
Validated input coverage: 4/4 series · Predictive accuracy not yet established
Official policy guidance is expired, unreviewed or superseded; no directional policy assessment is issued
Evidence currently evaluated
Headline CPIAbove the model reference zone; broadly steady
Canadian inflation excluding energy, recovery durability and trade-policy effects
Official guidance, opposing evidence & input details
Inflation objective: 2% midpoint of the 1–3% control range. Official framework ↗
Central-bank statement: The Governing Council kept its overnight target unchanged, said upside inflation risks had increased, and remained prepared to adjust policy as needed. It did not announce a precommitted hike. Original statement ↗
Published 2026-09-02 · Review 2026-10-16
Core definitions differ across countries; these are supporting indicators, not separate official targets.
Exclusion-based CPI is not the Bank of Canada’s CPI-trim or CPI-median.
Economic indicators are source-checked, but the prior central-bank commentary is not treated as current.
What is included, what is missing, and how to read the rate gap
The current rules evaluate headline and underlying inflation, unemployment, GDP and source-reviewed central-bank guidance. The inflation measures are not always the same as each bank's preferred policy measure.
TRADE90 uses official macroeconomic observations and central-bank policy evidence only. Wage growth, inflation expectations, services inflation, policy projections and credit conditions are not yet scored. The current thresholds have not been calibrated against historical forecast outcomes.
Rates are compared as base minus quote; a negative signed gap can become more negative even when the absolute gap widens. Widening or narrowing should never be interpreted as an FX buy/sell signal. If both banks have similar directional biases, timing and move sizes may make the relative gap uncertain. Read the complete model rules and limitations ↗
Answers use the published benchmark snapshot dated 29 Oct 2026. They are not trading signals.
Which currency has the higher policy benchmark in USD/CAD?
USD has the higher selected policy benchmark. The USD minus CAD difference is +137.5 basis points.
Does the USD/CAD interest-rate gap predict the exchange rate?
No. Policy-rate differences alone do not predict spot exchange rates. Market expectations, inflation, growth, risk sentiment and positioning can all influence price.
How is the USD/CAD policy-rate differential calculated?
Subtract the CAD policy benchmark from the USD benchmark and multiply the percentage-point difference by 100 to obtain basis points. A negative result means the quote currency has the higher benchmark.
Is this USD/CAD analysis live?
No. These are published policy benchmarks, not live FX quotes. Check the effective dates and linked official central-bank sources for each benchmark.
For effective dates, methodology and source links, review the benchmark comparison and supporting evidence above.