07:20 AM EST, 11/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- There are no major macroeconomic data releases on deck Monday, but there are a few things to watch later in the week in Canada, said Bank of Montreal (BMO).

Investors will get the merchandise trade balance for September on Tuesday, which is expected to weaken to a C$1.5 billion deficit, noted the bank. At this point, trade is expected to be about neutral for Q3 growth.

Tuesday also brings the Bank of Canada's Summary of Deliberations from the Oct. 23 meeting -- that's the 50 bps rate cut. BMO pointed out that Governor Tiff Macklem continues to state that the country is "not close" to the maximum rate divergence between Canada and the United States, so markets will be looking for any hints on where the BoC believes that could be.

Finally, BMO will watch for any discussion on the Canadian dollar (CAD or loonie) and potential US election outcomes. So far, Governor Macklem has noted that the loonie isn't a factor for policy.

The October employment report (LFS) rounds out the key data on Friday. the bank stated that the combination of modest economic growth driving modest employment growth likely continued to start Q4. BMO is looking for a job gain of 25,000 in the month, in line with the trend over the past year.

One notable aspect of the past two months of data is despite a continued surge in population growth, labor force growth has been very muted. That pushed the unemployment rate lower last month and has contained the overall increase. The bank is anticipating a reversal in October with the jobless rate up a tick to 6.6% amid slightly firmer labor force growth.

Finally, investors hear from Canada's central bank a few times as well. Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers will speak on Wednesday at 12:25 p.m. ET, Deputy Governor Rhys Mendes will speak on Thursday at 9 a.m. ET and Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle will be on a panel in Europe early Friday.

Government of Canada (GoC) bond yields rose slightly along the curve but outperformed larger moves in US Treasuries ahead of the US election, added BMO. Even so, GoC yields have drifted up slightly since the BoC's 50bps rate cut on Oct. 23.

With more near-term BoC easing priced in versus the US Federal Reserve, and some of the 'Trump trade' already built in the markets, the loonie hasn't been in a good place, nearly touching $1.40/USD last week.

The CAD is starting the week, like the rest of the majors on a stronger footing at $1.39, according to the bank.