us dollars - sell or wait?

[rehearser]

I have a few thousand american dollars.

should I exchange them to canadian right away or wait?

it apperas the CAD is gaining momentum.

http://www.google.ca/finance?q=CADUSD

thanks.

[hugh_da_man]

Unless you need the cash it wouldn't make sense to sell now. CAD is at a historically high price compared to the USD. Since everyone is so worried about a high CAD hurting the economy it'll have to drop at some point. Unless the US fails completely CAD should go back to 80 cents at some point but maybe not until mid next year.

You probably have more to gain by waiting.

[myster]

Unless you need the cash it wouldn't make sense to sell now. CAD is at a historically high price compared to the USD. Since everyone is so worried about a high CAD hurting the economy it'll have to drop at some point. Unless the US fails completely CAD should go back to 80 cents at some point but maybe not until mid next year.

You probably have more to gain by waiting.

+1

Also, selling CAD is a contrarian play.

Everyone (including myself until recently) have this notion that it is a matter of when (not if) the CAD will become par with USD again.

I wouldn't surprised if the majority is wrong.

[Wing Nut]

+1

Also, selling CAD is a contrarian play.

Everyone (including myself until recently) have this notion that it is a matter of when (not if) the CAD will become par with USD again.

I wouldn't surprised if the majority is wrong.

You seem to have misread the question. He's not asking about selling Canadian dollars but buying them.

I do agree with you that the loonie is headed to par again, but we're all just guessing. Not even the smartest person knows the short-term future.

[robster77]

I'll bet money the loonie goes on par again in the short-term. The U.S. is printing money down there like it's going out of style. If I had the cash on hand I'd sell those U.S. bucks now and enjoy the 8%+ gain that will come. But like a previous poster mentioned, if you have no reason for the cash, holding it in U.S. funds for a longer term wouldn't hurt either.

[gheart008]

Unless you need the cash it wouldn't make sense to sell now. CAD is at a historically high price compared to the USD. Since everyone is so worried about a high CAD hurting the economy it'll have to drop at some point. Unless the US fails completely CAD should go back to 80 cents at some point but maybe not until mid next year.

You probably have more to gain by waiting.

Not historic, since a year and a half ago the CAD surpassed the USD, closing at 1.07 in early November 2007.

[DanielCarrera]

Currency movements are unpredictable. The forex market is one of the most efficient markets in the world. You cannot guess whether the USD will go up or down, so your decision should be based on other factors. Are you going to have most of your life's expenses in CAD? Then you probably want to convert to reduce the volatility of your money. Are you planning a trip to the US in the future? Then keep the USD to avoid currency conversion costs later. You get the idea.

[Wing Nut]

Not historic, since a year and a half ago the CAD surpassed the USD, closing at 1.07 in early November 2007.

That wasn't the historic high.

[gheart008]

That wasn't the historic high.

I never said it was as I was just saying that right now it's not historic high either and I just gave a simple example of when it was higher.