USD/CAD consolidates near weekly tops, just below 1.3300 handle ahead of BoC

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

• The USD holds steady amid a fresh wave of global risk-off mood.
• Subdued oil prices do little to influence the commodity-linked Loonie.
• Today’s BoC monetary policy update eyed for some fresh impetus.

The USD/CAD pair now seems to have entered a bullish consolidation phase and was seen oscillating in a narrow trading band just below the 1.3300 handle.

The pair built on previous session's goodish rebound from the vicinity of near two-week lows, with a combination of factors supporting the positive momentum for the second consecutive session and lifting the pair to fresh weekly tops.

Fading optimism over the recently announced 90-day US-China trade truce, coupled with worries about an inversion of the short end of the yield curve weighed on market sentiment and eventually boosted the US Dollar's safe-haven demand.

Meanwhile, a subdued action around crude oil prices, ahead of the highly anticipated OPEC+ meeting, did little to influence demand for the commodity-linked currency - Loonie and failed to provide any meaningful impetus.

Bullish traders, however, seemed to lack any strong conviction and preferred to wait on the sidelines ahead of the latest BoC monetary policy update, due to be announced later during the early North-American session on Wednesday.

This coupled with this week's key macro releases, including the keenly watched NFP and Canadian monthly jobs report, will play an important role in determining the pair's next leg of a directional move.

Technical levels to watch

On a sustained move beyond the 1.3300 handle, the pair is likely to accelerate the up-move towards the 1.3325-30 intermediate resistance en-route multi-month tops, around the 1.3360 region. On the flip side, the 1.3255-50 zone now seems to protect the immediate downside, which if broken is likely to accelerate the fall back towards challenging the 1.3200 handle.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

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