USD/CAD looks to close day unchanged around 1.3270

• USD/CAD stays in consolidation channel in the second half of the day.
• WTI settles in the negative territory for the second straight day.
• US Dollar Index struggles to find direction.

The USD/CAD pair spent the first day of the week in a 40-pip range and now looks to close the day virtually unchanged near the 1.3270 handle  as the lack of macroeconomic data releases from both Canada and the United States allowed the pair to stay quiet.  

Crude oil’s rally, which caused the pair to lose 300 pips during the first week of January, came to an end on Friday with the barrel of West Texas Intermediate settling in the negative territory for the first time in 2019. After today’s data from China revived concerns over an economic slowdown in the world’s second-biggest consumer of oil, the WTI extended its losses to weigh on the commodity-sensitive oil. In post-settlement trade, the WTI was down nearly 2% on the day at $50.60.

Although the commodity-sensitive felt some pressure because of the oil’s slide today, the greenback’s subdued market action caused the pair to stay in its lane. With the ongoing government shutdown keeping investors on edge, the US Dollar Index failed to extend its rebound into the third day and was last seen down 0.1% on the day at 95.58.

Technical levels to consider