USD/CAD trades below 1.33 on upbeat Canadian data, weaker USD

• Wholesale sales in Canada rose 0.6% in June following May’s 1.9% drop.
• US Dollar Index drops below 98.20 ahead of PMI data.  
• WTI clings to modest recovery gains, trades above $56.

The USD/CAD pair failed to hold above the 1.33 mark and lost its traction in the early trading hours of the American session. After dropping to a session low of 1.3273, the pair inched higher and was last seen trading at 1.3285, losing 0.03% on the day.

CAD finds demand on upbeat data, rising crude oil prices

The data published by Statistics Canada today revealed that wholesale sales in Canada increased by 0.6% in June after declining by 1.9% in May and came in better than the market expectation of +0.3% to help the Loonie outperform its rivals. Moreover, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate is clinging to its daily recovery gains above the $56 mark, allowing the commodity-related CAD to preserve its strength.

On the other hand, despite hawkish comments from Kansas Fed President George, who voiced her opposition to further rate cuts during an interview with Bloomberg, the US Dollar Index turned south in the last hour. The sharp upsurge witnessed in the GBP/USD pair on hopes of the EU making concessions on the Irish backstop issue seems to have put the USD under selling pressure.  

As markets turn their attention to the IHS Markit’s preliminary Manufacturing and Services PMI reports for August, the US Dollar Index is down 0.07% on the day at 98.19.

Technical levels to  consider