USD/CAD stays in red near 1.29 as DXY struggles to retake 94 despite upbeat data

• Despite today’s strong data releases, DXY stays near 2-month lows.
• ADP reports 13.6K increase in Canadian employment.
• Coming up: Existing home sales from the U.S.

The USD/CAD pair touched its lowest level in three weeks in the early NA session at 1.2884 as the greenback remained under selling pressure despite the upbeat macroeconomic data releases from the United States. As of writing, the pair was down 0.15% on the day at 1.2901.

The weekly report released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday showed that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims fell to its lowest level since November of 1969 at 201,000. Furthermore, The Philly Fed announced that the business activity in the regional manufacturing sector continued to expand at a stronger than expected pace with the headline diffusion index rising to 22.9 in September from 11.9 in August. Finally, the NAR reported that existing-home sales stayed flat in August after declining for four consecutive months.

“Home sales in the U.S. were flat in August at 5.34 million annualized as rising mortgage rates continued to pressure buyers despite the roaring jobs market and wages gains.  They are off 6.6 percent from the post-crash high of 5.72 million last November. Market interest in this statistic has declined in recent years as the real estate market has returned to pre-bubble selling and price levels tracking the performance of the U.S. economy,” FXStreet Senior Analyst Joseph Trevisani said.

On the other hand, according to the ADP, private sector payrolls in Canada increased by 13.6K in August.

Despite the broad-based USD weakness, crude oil is struggling to extend its rally and weighing on the commodity-sensitive loonie to help the pair limit its losses. At the moment, the barrel of WTI is down 1.15% on the day at $70.60.

Technical levels to consider

The first support for the pair aligns at 1.2885 (Aug. 28 low/daily low) ahead of 1.2820 (May 31 low) and 1.2740 (May 22 low). On the upside, resistances align at 1.2930 (200-DMA), 1.3000 (psychological level) and 1.3055 (50-DMA/20-DMA).