USD/CAD eases from highs, clings to modest gains near mid-1.33s

• Crude oil drop weighs on the commodity-sensitive loonie on Friday.
• Greenback weakens in the NA session.
• Manufacturing sales in Canada rose  more than expected in January.

The USD/CAD pair climbed to a daily high of 1.3375 in the early NA session as the commodity-related loonie weakened on falling crude oil prices. However, with the greenback meeting a new selling-wave in the last couple of hours, the pair lost its bullish momentum and eased from its daily highs. As of writing, the pair was trading at 1.3350, adding 0.12% on a daily basis.

After advancing to its highest level since mid-November at $58.93, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate reversed its direction amid profit-taking ahead of the weekend and dropped below $58 before going into a consolidation phase. Ahead of the weekly Baker Hughes rig count data, the WTI is down 0.25% on the day at $58.35.

On the other hand, a sharp fall witnessed in the 10-year T-bond yield in the NA session weighed on the greenback and forced the US Dollar Index, which touched a daily high of 96.80, return to 96.50 area. For the week, the index is down nearly 1%. Today’s data from the u.S. revealed that consumer confidence improved slightly in March and industrial production expanded by less than expected in February.

• US: UoM Consumer Confidence Index improves to 97.8 in March from 93.8.
• US: Industrial production expands 0.1% in February vs 0.4% expected.

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