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USD/CAD advances above 1.4000 on oil selloff, dismal Canadian data

  • Building Permits in Canada declined by 7.3% in February.
  • WTI drops below $24 ahead of weekly EIA data.
  • US Dollar Index clings to small daily gains above 100.

The USD/CAD pair dropped below the 1.40 handle during the European trading hours but easily recovered its losses with falling crude oil prices making it difficult for the commodity-sensitive loonie to find demand. As of writing, the pair was up 0.3% on the day at 1.4032.

WTI turns south ahead of EIA data

After erasing more than 7% on Tuesday, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) recovered above $25 on Wednesday but lost its traction as investors seem to be moving to the sidelines ahead of the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report. As of writing, the WTI was down 1.75% on the day at $23.80. Markets expect the EIA to announce an increase of 9.2 million barrels in the US crude oil stocks for the week ending April 3rd.  

Meanwhile, the data published by Statistics Canada revealed that Building Permits declined by 7.2% on a monthly basis in February to miss analysts’ estimate of -4.5% by a wide margin and put additional weight on the CAD’s shoulders.

On the other hand, the souring market sentiment helps the greenback hold above the 100 handle. Later in the day, the FOMC will release the minutes of its unscheduled meeting that took place on March 15th.

There won’t be any significant macroeconomic data releases from the US and crude oil prices are likely to continue to impact the pair’s movements until the FOMC event.

Technical levels to watch for

 

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