AUSSIE-CAD: Westpac note that "CAD is.........>

FOREX: AUSSIE-CAD: Westpac note that "CAD is likely to be among the weakest

major currencies this year, as the historic energy market collapse and limited

fiscal support are likely to produce an extended period of underperformance. The

IMF April Fiscal Monitor shows Canada is committed to a relatively modest fiscal

COVID-19 spend of 5.2% of GDP, less than the US at 6.9% and Australia at 10.6%

of GDP. On the energy side, admittedly Canada's western select blends have not

fallen as much as West Texas. Still, the knock-on effects will be severe.

Multi-month, CAD seems likely to underperform AUD, with China much further down

the recovery path than the US. Australia's coronavirus case trajectory also

presents the prospect of a quicker revival of domestic services activity than in

Canada. This could mean an eventual push to the 0.92-0.93 area. Near term

however, it is hard to ignore the positive correlation between AUD/CAD and broad

swings in equity sentiment. Our base case in Q2 is for USD to find renewed haven

demand as brutal data on economic activity and corporate earnings is released

around the world. This should undermine equities and could knock AUD/CAD back to

around 0.87."