USD/CAD sits near multi-week tops, just above mid-1.3200s

• The pair gained some traction despite a combination of negative factors.
• Bulls seemed unaffected by a subdued USD demand, positive Oil prices.
• Thursday’s speeches by influential FOMC members eyed for a fresh impetus.

The USD/CAD pair held steady above mid-1.3200s, or near five-week tops, with bulls still awaiting a move beyond the very important 200-day SMA.
 
The pair ticked higher for the fifth consecutive session – also marking its eighth day of a positive move in the previous nine – and seemed rather unaffected by bullish oil prices, which tend to underpin demand for the commodity-linked currency – Loonie.

Bulls await a sustained move beyond 200-DMA

Even a subdued US Dollar price action, weighed down by a sharp pullback in the US Treasury bond yields, did little to dampen the prevalent bullish sentiment surrounding the major, albeit kept a lid on any runaway rally, at least for the time being.
 
Oil prices gained some follow-through traction on Thursday and remained well supported by the overnight report, which showed a surprise drop in the US crude inventories, and comments from an OPEC official about lower US shale production growth in 2020.
 
The prevalent risk-off mood, amid growing uncertainty over a preliminary US-China trade deal, seemed to be the only factor that benefitted the greenback’s perceived safe-haven status against its Canadian counterpart and driving the pair higher.

It, however, remains to be seen if bulls are able to capitalize on the momentum and make it through a significant technical barrier as market participants now look forward to scheduled speeches by influential FOMC member for some meaningful trading impetus.

Technical levels to watch