USD/CAD clings to gains above 1.2750 after Canada data

• USD/CAD continues to trade in the positive territory on Friday.
• Retail Sales in Canada rose slightly more than expected in October.
• WTI consolidates weekly gains, looks to close week above $48.

The USD/CAD pair is posting modest gains on Friday supported by the USD strength. As of writing, the pair was up 0.3% on a daily basis at 1.2760.

Market participants ignore mid-tier data

Earlier in the session, the data from Canada showed that Retail Sales in October increased by 0.4%. Although this reading came in better than the market expectation of 0.2%, it failed to help the CAD find demand.

On the other hand, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that the current account deficit widened to $178.5 billion in the third quarter but this print was largely ignored by the market participants. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which slumped to its lowest level since April 2018 at 89.73, stays in the positive territory around 90.00 and helping USD/CAD cling to its daily upside.

In the meantime, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate is trading with small gains near $48.40 on Friday, failing to provide a directional clue to the commodity-related CAD.

There won’t be any other macroeconomic data releases from the US in the remainder of the day and investors will keep a close eye on Wall Street’s performance. If major equity indexes turn south, the DXY could preserve its recovery momentum and allow USD/CAD to close the last day of the week in the green.

Technical levels to watch for