- WTI refreshes 2019 highs above $62.
- European currencies continue to underperform and help USD gather strength.
- US Dollar Index climbs to 97.50.
After edging lower toward the 1.33 handle on Tuesday, the USD/CAD pair reversed its course in the early NA session and rose to a fresh daily high of 1.3374. As of writing, the pair was up 0.42% on the day at 1.3363.
Although the commodity-sensitive CAD took advantage of the impressive crude oil rally and outperformed its major rivals in the last couple of trading days, the broad-based USD strength on Tuesday forced the pair to turn north. At the moment, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate is trading at its highest level of the year at $62.30, adding nearly 1% on a daily basis. The next catalyst for the WTI will be the weekly API oil stock data.
Meanwhile, despite a lack of USD-positive of fundamental drivers, the greenback finds demand as investors continue to move away from major European currencies such as the EUR and the GBP. After spending a large part of the day near yesterday’s closing level of 97.35, the US Dollar Index advanced to its highest level since March 8 at 97.52. At the moment, the DXY is up 0.18% on the day at 97.50.
The U.S. Census Bureau today reported that durable goods orders declined by 1.6% in February. Commenting on the data, “The print points to a further slowdown in business investment, and is consistent with our view that investment will slow sharply this year, which should bring growth back down towards trend,” said Bill Diviney, ABN AMRO’s senior economist.
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