|

USD/CAD hanging around 1.2750, looking for more

  • The Loonie gave up a lot of ground last week as traders balked at the BoC's surprisingly dovish stance.
  • NAFTA renegotiations will be key to the USD/CAD's momentum going forward.

The USD/CAD is sticking to the high notes, trading above 1.2750 in the week's early action.

USD/CAD Forecast: NAFTA nirvana needed after crude cannot help CAD

The Bank of Canada (BoC) turned dovish last week, leaving rates unchanged, and economic data for Canada missed expectations, and US Treasury yields continue to rise, all coming together to drive the Loonie lower and the Greenback higher in the previous week. Following the missed showing for the BoC and inflation, the focus is likely to shift back to the ongoing NAFTA renegotiations between the US, Canada, and Mexico. 

Trump's steel tariffs announced in March are slated to come into effect for Canada, who only received a 'temporary exemption' as the hope of future exemptions has been inexplicably tied to renegotiations, and traders are bracing for an unnecessarily messy showdown as the US begins to impose trade tariffs on allies that are currently renegotiating NAFTA.

USD/CAD Levels to watch

As FXStreet's own Yohay Elam noted recently, the USD/CAD is at somewhat of an inflection point and the technical outlook is surprisingly bearish, as he states, "momentum is pointing lower and the pair trades below the 50-day Simple Moving Average. Also, the RSI has still not decisively recaptured the 50 level. On the other hand, the USD/CAD is now above the 200-day SMA. Looking up, the C$1.2764 was a swing high in February and now nearly coincides with the 50-day SMA. Further above, the round number of 1.28 worked as a cushion twice during the month of March. Even higher, 1.2760 separated ranges back when the pair traded at higher ground. On the downside, the swing high of 1.2680 works as weak support. 1.2630 was a stubborn cap in April and now switches roles. The April'low of 1.2525 is next."

Author

Joshua Gibson

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

More from Joshua Gibson
Share:

Editor's Picks

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.