USD/CAD bulls move in as Russia's Pres. Putin speaks of Ukraine & NATO in contempt

USD/CAD is ticking higher despite strong oil prices.
Ris-off markets are hurting the commodity complex currencies as Putin addresses the nation.

Ross J Burland FXStreet

The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart on Friday and remains pressured at the start of the week despite the price of oil spiking on Monday. Risk-off is the theme as investors, mindful of Russia's military build-up around Ukraine, turn to the latest developments and announcements from the Kremlin.

Watch live: Putin speaks over Ukraine in contempt

At the time of writing, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, is addressing the nation and making his opinions about Ukraine in contempt. This is hurting risk-FX and the CAD included as investors seek out safe-havens, such as gold which is breaking to the day's highs currently. The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Russian recognition of Luhansk and Donetsk is in breach of international law.

Meanwhile, during his long-winded speech, Putin is expected to say that he has signed a separatist recognition decree over eastern Ukraine regions which will be another step closer to the prospects of a European war and will likely hurt risk associated assets classes in financial markets.

The price of oil, however, is getting a boost as traders anticipate sanctions on Russian exports. The market has room to run higher considering investors opted to liquidate their length in WTI crude oil recently. Conflicting reports between escalation and de-escalation have made for a volatile landscape for the energy sector.

''Until there is some clarity in either direction, the risk premium is likely to remain baked into market pricing,'' analysts at TD Securities argued. ''With non-geopolitical supply factors starting to shift toward looser markets, energy prices are particularly vulnerable to a de-escalation in Russian-Ukrainian tensions in the immediate term.''

As for domestics, Canadian Retail Sales rose 2.4% in January from December, a flash estimate from Statistics Canada showed, supporting expectations for the Bank of Canada to begin hiking interest rates at the March 2 policy announcement.

USD/CAD

Overview
Today last price	1.2758
Today Daily Change	-0.0002
Today Daily Change %	-0.02
Today daily open	1.276

Trends
Daily SMA20	1.2705
Daily SMA50	1.2709
Daily SMA100	1.2625
Daily SMA200	1.2542

Levels
Previous Daily High	1.2761
Previous Daily Low	1.2674
Previous Weekly High	1.2784
Previous Weekly Low	1.2664
Previous Monthly High	1.2814
Previous Monthly Low	1.2451
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	1.2727
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	1.2707
Daily Pivot Point S1	1.2702
Daily Pivot Point S2	1.2645
Daily Pivot Point S3	1.2615
Daily Pivot Point R1	1.2789
Daily Pivot Point R2	1.2819
Daily Pivot Point R3	1.2876

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

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