USD/CAD eases from 1-week tops, still comfortable above 1.30 handle

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

• Overnight strong upsurge once again fails ahead of 100-DMA barrier.
• The USD fails to capitalize on early up-move and seemed to cap gains.
• Falling oil prices weigh on Loonie and might help limit immediate slide.

The USD/CAD pair built on previous session's strong upsurge and climbed to fresh weekly tops during the early European session, albeit retreated few pips thereafter.

A combination of supporting factors assisted the pair to catch some aggressive bids on Wednesday and rebound sharply from over one-week lows set on Tuesday, recovering all of its losses recorded over the past two trading session.

A sharp fall in crude oil prices, following the release of bearish EIA weekly US crude oil inventories data, weighed heavily on the commodity-linked currency - Loonie. According to the report, crude oil stocks in the US increased by 6.5 million barrels in the week ending October 12.

Adding to this, resurgent US Dollar demand, further supported by a hawkish assessment of the latest FOMC meeting minutes, turned out to be key factors behind the pair's strong intraday rally of over 90-pips.

Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting revealed that majority of the Committee members believed that rates will have to rise until the economy slows down on the back of rising borrowing costs and reinforced market expectations that the Fed will continue on its path of gradual rate hikes beyond 2018.

The pair jumped back above the key 1.3000 psychological mark and continued gaining positive traction for the second consecutive session, albeit once again stalled the positive momentum just ahead of the 100-day SMA barrier amid a modest USD retracement slide.

Despite a fresh leg of an upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields, the greenback failed to capitalize on the early up-move and has now drifted into negative territory, which turned out to be the only factor keeping a lid on any further up-move for the major, at least for the time being.

Technical levels to watch

The 1.30 handle now seems to protect the immediate downside, which if broken might accelerate the fall back towards the 1.2960-55 support area. On the upside, the 100-day SMA, currently near the 1.3065 region remains an important barrier to clear, above which the pair seems all set to aim towards reclaiming the 1.3100 handle.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

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

EUR/USD flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold clings to gains just above $5,000/oz

Gold is reclaiming part of the ground lost on Wednesday’s marked decline, as bargain-hunters keep piling up and lifting prices past the key $5,000 per troy ounce. The precious metal’s move higher is also underpinned by the slight pullback in the US Dollar and declining US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP in choppy price action, weighed down by falling institutional interest

Bitcoin's upside remains largely constrained amid weak technicals and declining institutional interest. Ethereum trades sideways above $1,900 support with the upside capped below $2,000 amid ETF outflows.

Week ahead – Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.