USD/CAD stays above 200-day average after Canadian Retail Sales

The Canadian dollar failed to capitalize on better than expected data today. Instead, the USDCAD pair stayed above its 200-day moving average, signaling further gains for the pair (losses for the Canadian dollar).

At the time of writing, the Loonie was down 0.7% against the USD, with the USDCAD pair trading at 1.2670, the highest level since 17 March.

Earlier today, Canadian retail sales for February fell from 3.3% to 0.1%, but higher than -0.1% expected. At the same time, retail sales ex-autos decelerated from 2.9% to 2.1%, also better than analysts forecast of 0%.

Additionally, the Canadian raw material price index, which measures the prices of key raw materials paid by Canadian manufacturers, nearly doubled in March, printing 11.8% from 6.4% previously, confirming inflation pressures are rising.

Later today, the US manufacturing and services PMI for April are on schedule, projected to decline slightly, but these numbers rarely influence the USDCAD pair.

The Canadian dollar also lost some ground as the WTI oil seems to be unable to rise significantly above the 200-day moving average.

At the same time, the US dollar continues to dominate the markets, boosted by rising US yields and the recent hawkish Fed talk.

The next level for bulls could be near 1.28, while on the downside, the support seems to be at the 200-day moving average near 1.2620.