|

USD/CAD Forecast: USMCA sends it below 1.2800, levels to watch

  • A new NAFTA is born and renamed as USMCA.
  • The USD/CAD dropped to a four-month low on the relief. 
  • The pair has room to fall, at least until the bottom of the downtrend channel.

In last-minute late-night talks, Canada and the United States reached an agreement on a new version of the North American Free Trade Agreement. It received a new name: the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). Canada agreed to make concessions on opening its dairy market to American farmers while insisting on maintaining the arbitration mechanism, Clause 19. In side letters, the US committed not to slap tariffs on Canada. The northern nation was flabbergasted by the American use of security reasons to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum. 

US President Donald Trump and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau hailed the agreement which still needs to be ratified by the legislatures in both countries. Nevertheless, the currency reaction was swift. 

The USD/CAD kicked off the week with a significant Sunday gap and dropped below 1.2800, trading at the lowest levels since May, a four-month low. The Mexican Peso rallied as well. 

What level should we watch out for?

USD/CAD Technical Analysis

USD CAD Technical analysis October 1 2018

The USD/CAD dropped below the 200-day Simple Moving Average, a meaningful bearish sign. In addition, Momentum is clearly to the downside. At the time of writing, the Relative Strength Index is above 30, thus not representing oversold conditions. All in all, there is room for more drops.

1.2730 is the next level to watch. The pair was supported at or just above these levels throughout the May, thus making it a significant line of support. Further down, 1.2625 capped the pair when it traded on the low ground back in April and when the SMA200 converged with the price.

Lower, 1.250 served as support back in February. Much lower, 1.2250 was the low point in late January and early February.

Looking up, the previous double-bottom of 1.2880 now turns into resistance. It supported the USD/CAD in September and in August. 1.2970 was a support line back in August and now serves as resistance. Above 1.3000, we find 1.3065 as a stubborn level of resistance. The round number of 1.3100 is next.

Author

Yohay Elam

Yohay Elam

FXStreet

Yohay is in Forex since 2008 when he founded Forex Crunch, a blog crafted in his free time that turned into a fully-fledged currency website later sold to Finixio.

More from Yohay Elam
Share:

Editor's Picks

GBP/USD drops below 1.3550 on geopolitical tensions, hawkish Fed bets

GBP/USD trades with mild losses below 1.3550 in the second half of the day on Tuesday. The US Dollar recovers some ground amid ongoing Middle East tensions and hawkish expectations around the Fed's interest rate outlook, weighing on the pair ahead of US data releases.

EUR/USD stays below 1.1600 ahead of US data

EUR/USD struggles to capitalize on the overnight bounce and trades below 1.1600 on Tuesday. The data from the Eurozone showed that the annual HICP inflation rose to 3.3% in August from 2.9% in July, matching the market expectation, while the core HICP inflation edged lower to 2.4% from 2.5% in this period. In the second half of the day, JOLTS Job Openings and ISM Manufacturing PMI data will be featured in the US economic calendar.

Gold extends reversal below $4,400 on hawkish Fed repricing

XAU/USD extends its reversal below $4,400, posting a nearly 7% decline from last week's highs. Precious metals struggle this week as markets reprice a Fed rate hike in September.

Ripple, Cardano, and Dogecoin show weakness – Crucial EMAs in focus

Ripple, Cardano, and Dogecoin remain weak after double-digit losses last week, testing their crucial Exponential Moving Averages for immediate support. The technical outlook warns of further weakness in the prices of XRP, ADA, and DOGE as bullish momentum eases.

US JOLTS Job Openings set to show a steady labor market

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has a busy week, releasing relevant employment data. It will start on Tuesday with the publication of the July Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) at 14:00 GMT. The JOLTS report is expected to show job openings stood at 7.3 million in July.

Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.