Home USD/CAD clings to gains above 1.40 post-Canadian retail sales
FXStreet News

USD/CAD clings to gains above 1.40 post-Canadian retail sales

  • USD/CAD gained some follow-through traction for the second straight session on Friday.
  • A strong pickup in the USD demand remained supportive amid a sharp fall in oil prices.
  • Friday’s release of Canadian monthly retail sales did little to provide any fresh impetus.

The USD/CAD pair maintained its strong bid tone through the early North American session and held steady above the key 1.40 psychological mark post-Canadian macro data.

The pair gained some follow-through traction for the second straight session on Friday and built on the previous day’s goodish recovery move from the vicinity of three-week lows set on Tuesday. The momentum was supported by a combination of factors, including a goodish pickup in the US dollar demand and a sharp fall in crude oil prices.

Concerns over a further escalation in diplomatic tensions between the United States and China took its toll on the global risk sentiment. This was evident from a weaker tone surrounding the global equity markets, which forced investors to take refuge in the safe-haven US dollar.

On the other hand, a fresh leg down in crude oil prices undermined demand for the commodity-linked currency – the loonie – and remained supportive of the strong bid tone surrounding the USD/CAD pair. The Canadian dollar failed to gain any respite from Friday’s release of Canadian monthly retail sales, which declined by 10% in March.

From a technical perspective, some follow-through buying above the 1.4050-60 region might be seen as a fresh trigger for bullish traders and set the stage for a further near-term appreciating move. The pair might then aim towards surpassing the 1.4090-1.4100 heavy supply zone.

Technical levels to watch

 

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.