- Retail sales in the US rose more than expected in August.
- US Dollar Index recovered a small part of its daily losses.
- WTI clings to modest daily gains above $55.
After spending the first half of the day moving sideways in a tight range above the 1.23 mark, the USD/CAD pair gained traction in the last hour and rose to a fresh weekly high of 1.3242. As of writing, the pair was trading at 1.3232, adding 0.17% on a daily basis.
Today’s data from the US revealed that retail sales in August rose 0.4% on a monthly basis to beat the market expectation of +0.2%. With the initial market reaction, the US Dollar Index, which tested the 98 handle earlier today, staged a modest rebound and is now at 98.15, still losing 0.21% on the day.
WTI recovers on trade optimism
On the other hand, crude oil seems to have shaken off the heavy selling pressure that caused the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to lose more than 5% in the last three days. Upbeat market sentiment on hopes of the US and China moving toward a trade deal next month in Washington seems to be providing a boost to the WTI and helping the commodity-related Loonie limit its losses. The WTI was last seen trading at $55.35, rising 0.5% on the day.
Later in the session, the University of Michigan’s Consumer Confidence Index will be the last significant macroeconomic data release of the week.
Technical levels to watch for
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