USD/CAD climbs to daily highs near 1.3440 as WTI slumps to $59
- Crude oil comes under pressure after EIA report.
- Trade deficit narrows both in the U.S. and Canada in January.
- US Dollar Index approaches 97 in the NA session.
The USD/CAD pair extended its daily gains above the 1.34 mark in the last hour and touched a fresh session high of 1.3441 as the commodity-sensitive loonie weakened against its rivals amid falling crude oil prices. As of writing, the pair was trading at 1.3435, adding 0.4% on a daily basis.
The weekly report published by the EIA today revealed that crude oil stocks in the U.S. increased by 2.8 million barrels and weighed on the price of the West Texas Intermediate, which was last seen losing 1.4% on the day at $59.15. Earlier in the day, Statistics Canada reported that international trade deficit edged down to $4.25 billion in January but missed the market estimate of $3.5 billion.
On the other hand, the greenback seems to be taking advantage of the sour market mood with the US Dollar Index building on yesterday's recovery gains. At the moment, the DXY is up 0.15% on the day at 96.94. Today's data from the U.S. showed that the trade deficit at $51.1 billion in January came in better than the analysts' estimate of $57 billion.
GDP growth data from the U.S. and Canada, on Thursday and Friday respectively, will be watched closely by market participants ahead of the weekend. Previewing Canadian data, "We expect GDP to have shrink 0.1% in the month," said NBF analysts.
Technical levels to consider
Author
Eren Sengezer
FXStreet
As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.
