USD/CAD in search of a firm direction, stuck in a range below 1.3300 handle

   “¢   A goodish pickup in the US bond yields helped revive USD demand.
   “¢   Sliding oil prices undermine Loonie and extend some additional support.
   “¢   Bulls lacked strong conviction amid absent market-moving economic data.

The USD/CAD pair reversed an early European session dip to 1.3245 level and climbed to fresh session tops in the last hour, albeit lacked any strong follow-through.

The pair lacked any firm directional bias and seesawed between tepid gains/minor losses through the mid-European trading session, with bulls failing to capitalize on last week’s goodish rebound from 100-day SMA support.

A goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields helped revive the US Dollar demand, which coupled with sliding crude oil prices weighed on the commodity-linked currency – Loonie and extended some support.  

The greenback found some support after the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that he did not see any progress made on structural issues during the US-China trade talks last week.

Meanwhile, market concerns over slowing global economy failed to assist oil prices to build on the recent positive momentum beyond the key $50 psychological mark and helped limit any meaningful move to the downside.

Despite a combination of supporting factors, the uptick lacked any strong conviction and held well within the previous session’s broader trading range/below the 1.3300 handle amid absent relevant market moving economic releases.  

Hence it would be prudent to wait for a strong follow-through buying before confirming that the pair might have already bottomed out in the near-term or positioning for any further near-term recovery move.

Technical levels to watch