Home USD/CAD clings to gains above 1.35 following US and Canada GDP data
FXStreet News

USD/CAD clings to gains above 1.35 following US and Canada GDP data

  • Canadian GDP expands 0.3% in October.
  • The third estimate shows a 3.4% GDP growth in Q3 in the U.S.
  • WTI continues to trade below $46.

The initial market reaction to the macroeconomic releases from the U.S. and Canada lifted the USD/CAD pair to a fresh 19-month high at 1.3563 but the pair quickly returned to its comfort zone. As of writing, the pair was trading at 1.3530, adding 0.15% on a daily basis.

The data published by Statistics Canada showed that the GDP expanded by 0.3% on a monthly basis in October following September’s 0.1% contraction. A separate  report revealed that the retail sales increased by 0.3% in the same period to come in slightly better than the analysts’ estimate for a 0.2% growth.

On the other hand, according to the third estimate of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the real GDP in the U.S. increased by 3.4% on an annual basis in the third quarter to miss the market expectation of 3.5%. Additionally, durable good orders rose 0.8% in November after declining 4.3% in October. Following the data, the US Dollar Index didn’t have a difficult time holding on to its daily recovery gains and was last seen up 0.2% on the day at 96.60.

Meanwhile, another sharp fall seen in crude oil prices weighed on the commodity-sensitive loonie throughout the day. Although the barrel of West Texas Intermediate staged a modest rebound after touching its lowest level of the year at $45.10, it’s still down 1% on the day at $45.75.

Technical levels to consider

The initial resistance for the pair aligns at 1.3560 (daily high/2018 high) ahead of 1.3610 (May 19, 2017, high) and 1.2670 (May 18, 2017, high). On the downside, supports are located at 1.3500/1.3490 (psychological level/daily low), 1.3445 (Dec. 20 low) and 1.3410 (Dec. 19 low).

FX Street

FX Street

FXStreet is the leading independent portal dedicated to the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market. It was launched in 2000 and the portal has always been proud of their unyielding commitment to provide objective and unbiased information, to enable their users to take better and more confident decisions.