USD/CAD holds comfortably above 1.3300 handle

• The USD remains well supported by a goodish pickup in the US bond yields.
• Reports that the EU will halt imports of Canadian fruits further weighed on CAD.
• Subdued Oil price action does little to influence ahead of Powell’s speech.

The USD/CAD pair held comfortably above the 1.3300 handle through the early European session on Friday, albeit remained well below two-month tops set earlier this week.
 
A combination of factors helped the pair to continue gaining some positive traction for the second consecutive session on Friday and built on this week’s rebound from the 1.3250 support area – tested in reaction to hotter-than-expected Canadian CPI report on Wednesday.

A combination of factors remain supportive

Against the backdrop of not so dovish FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday, the US Dollar remained well supported by a goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields and turned out to be one of the key factors behind the pair’s ongoing positive momentum.
 
This coupled with a report that the European Union will halt imports of Canadian cherries and other fresh fruits starting Sept. 1 amid new import requirements related to pests further weighed on the Canadian Dollar and remained supportive of the pair’s bid tone.
 
Meanwhile, a subdued action around Crude Oil prices did little to influence demand for the commodity-linked currency – Loonie, or provide any meaningful impetus ahead of the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s scheduled speech at Jackson Hole Symposium later this Friday.
 
Given that another rate cut in the September meeting is fully priced in, Powell’s comments will be closely scrutinized to find out if the central bank is prepared to slash rates further and will play a key role in determining the pair’s next leg of a directional move.

Technical levels to watch