USD/CAD retreats to 1.3750 area on rising oil prices

• USD/CAD falls toward lower limit of daily range near 1.3750. 
• Rising crude oil prices help loonie gather strength against its rivals.
• US Dollar Index edges lower following US data dump.

The USD/CAD pair climbed to a daily high of 1.3790 during the European session but turned south in the last hour as rising crude oil prices provided a boost to the commodity-sensitive CAD. As of writing, the pair was flat on the day at 1.3750.

WTI rises on hopes of extended output curbs

Earlier in the day, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia and some other OPEC producers were planning to extend the existing oil output cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day until December. Supported by this headline, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained traction and was last seen up 2.1% on the day at $32.85. At 1500 GMT, the EIA will release the weekly Crude Oil Stocks Change data.

On the other hand, the greenback weakened modestly against its rivals and allowed the pair to push lower following macroeconomic data releases.

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis, in its second estimate, revealed that the real Gross Domestic Product in the US was expected to contract by 5% in the first quarter. Other data showed that Durable Goods Orders in April declined by 17.2% to come in better than analysts’ estimate for a fall of 19%. At the moment, the US Dollar Index is losing 0.17% on the day at 98.78.

Meanwhile, the only data from Canada showed that the Current Account deficit in the first quarter expanded by $1.8 billion to 411.1 billion.

Technical levels to watch for