USD/CAD ticks higher, but remains below mid-1.3200s post-US data
| • Upbeat US monthly retail sales remained supportive of the strong USD bid tone.
• Positive oil prices underpinning Loonie and kept a lid on any meaningful up-move.
The USD/CAD pair recovered a major part of its early downtick and now seems headed back towards the top end of its daily trading range post-US macro releases.
The pair quickly reversed an early slide to the 1.3200 neighborhood and caught some bids during the early North-American session following the release of stronger-than-expected US monthly retail sales figures.
Data released on Thursday showed the US monthly retail sales recorded a strong 0.8% m/m growth in October, surpassing consensus estimates pointing to a 0.5% rise. Excluding automobiles- core retail sales also bettered market expectations and increased by 0.7% m/m during the reported month.
"American consumers have affirmed they are still in charge. The rebound in retail sales in October leading into the holiday shopping season is good news for the economy, the Fed and the dollar," Joseph Trevisani, Senior Analyst at FXStreet noted after the report was made public on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a slight disappointment from the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, falling to 12.9 in Nov. from 22.2 previous, was largely offset by an unexpected rise in the Empire State Manufacturing Index, coming in at 23.3 for the current month as compared to previous month's reading of 21.1.
The US Dollar held on to its strong intraday gains, albeit failed to provide any meaningful bullish impetus. A follow-through uptick in crude oil prices, which tend to underpin demand for the commodity-linked currency - Loonie, turned out to be the only factor keeping a lid on any meaningful up-move, at least for the time being.
Technical levels to watch
The 1.3250-60 region might continue to act as an immediate strong hurdle, above which the pair seems all set to aim towards reclaiming the 1.3300 handle. On the flip side, the 1.3210-05 region now seems to have emerged as an immediate support, which if broken might prompt some aggressive long-unwinding trade and accelerate the fall further towards the 1.3170-65 horizontal support.
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