USD/CAD climbs to fresh 2-day tops above 1.32
- BoC's Poloz says the trade war poses a serious threat.
- WTI retreats below $57 after weekly EIA report.
- US Dollar Index rebounds above 96.60.
The USD/CAD pair preserved its bullish momentum in the last couple of hours and rose above the 1.32 mark. As of writing, the pair was up 50 pips, or 0.37%, on the day at 1.3226.
The combination of a stronger greenback in the second half of the day and a weaker loonie provided the fuel to pair's upsurge. After closing the fifth straight day in the negative territory on Wednesday, the US Dollar Index rebounded today boosted by a decisive upsurge seen in the Treasury bond yields. While the yield on the 10-year reference is rising 1.6% on the day, the DXY is adding 0.13% at 96.64.
On the other hand, after the weekly EIA report showed a larger than expected buildup in crude oil inventories in the U.S., the barrel of West Texas Intermediate extended its decline and eased below the $57 mark to weigh on the commodity-sensitive loonie. Additionally, Bank of Canada Governor Poloz sounded cautious in his latest remarks to force the CAD to stay under pressure. Regarding the economic outlook, Poloz said that a temporary slowdown was expected and added that the US-led trade war posed the biggest threat to the Canadian economy.
Although later in the session the Canadian ambassador to the United Stayed was noted saying that he believed the U.S. would lift metal tariffs soon, the CAD struggled to find demand.
On Friday, investors will be paying close attention to retail sales data in Canada, which showed a contraction of 0.9% in November.
Key technical levels
USD/CAD
Overview:
Today Last Price: 1.3226
Today Daily change %: 0.37%
Today Daily Open: 1.3177
Trends:
Daily SMA20: 1.3223
Daily SMA50: 1.3352
Daily SMA100: 1.3256
Daily SMA200: 1.3154
Levels:
Previous Daily High: 1.322
Previous Daily Low: 1.315
Previous Weekly High: 1.3341
Previous Weekly Low: 1.3196
Previous Monthly High: 1.3664
Previous Monthly Low: 1.3118
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%: 1.3177
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%: 1.3194
Daily Pivot Point S1: 1.3144
Daily Pivot Point S2: 1.3112
Daily Pivot Point S3: 1.3074
Daily Pivot Point R1: 1.3215
Daily Pivot Point R2: 1.3253
Daily Pivot Point R3: 1.3285
Today's data releases from the U.S.
- US: Durable goods orders rose 1.2% in December vs 1.5% expected.
- US: Initial weekly jobless claims decreased by 23,000 to 216,000.
- Philly Fed Manufacturing Index plummets to -4.1 in February from 17 in January.
- US: Markit Manufacturing PMI drops to 53.7 in February (preliminary) vs 54.7 expected.
- US: Existing home sales drop 1.2% in January.
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.
