USD/CAD had a quiet week, as the pair was almost unchanged at the end of the week. The pair closed at 1.0532. There are a host of major releases this week ,including the BOC Rate Statement, Employment Change and Ivey PMI. Here is an outlook on the major market-movers and an updated technical analysis for USD/CAD.
Canada’s only key release last week, GDP, posted its first decline in six months, but was very close to the estimate. US numbers were a mixed bag. In the US, housing and manufacturing numbers were weak, but employment and GDP data was positive.
[do action=”autoupdate” tag=”USDCADUpdate”/]USD/CAD daily chart with support and resistance lines on it. Click to enlarge:
- Trade Balance: Wednesday, 12:30. Canada continues to post monthly trade deficits. In August, the deficit increased from -0.3 billion to -0.5 billion dollars, matching the estimate. The markets are expecting a deficit of -0.4 billion dollars in September.
- BOC Overnight Rate: Wednesday, 14:00. The BOC will announce its benchmark interest rate through a rate statement. The rate has been pegged at 1.00% for the past three years, and no change is anticipated.
- Employment Change: Friday, 12:30. Canada posted an awful Employment Change release in August, with a decline of -39.4 thousand. This shocked the markets, which had anticipated a gain of 6.2 thousand. The markets are expecting a strong turnaround in the September release, with an estimate of 30..2 thousand. Will the indicator follow through with a strong reading? The Unemployment Rate is expected to remain unchanged at 7.2%.
- Labor Productivity: Friday, 12:30. Labor Productivity is an important indicator, and its release on a quarterly basis increases its impact. The indicator posted a slim gain of 0.2% in Q1, and a rise of 0.3% is predicted for Q2.
- Ivey PMI: Friday, 14:00. This index is based on a survey of about 175 purchase managers. The indicator has been in a sharp decline in recent months and came in at 48.4 points in the August release. This was the lowest reading since December 2012. The markets are expecting a sharp rebound in the upcoming release, with an estimate of 55.1 points.
* All times are GMT.
USD/CAD Technical Analysis
USD/CAD opened the week at 1.0504 and dropped below the 1.05 line, touching a low of 1.0492. The pair then rebounded, climbing to a high of 1.0558. USD/CAD closed the week at 1.0532, as support at 1.0523 (discussed last week) remained intact.
Live chart of USD/CAD: [do action=”tradingviews” pair=”USDCAD” interval=”60″/]
Technical lines, from top to bottom:
We begin with resistance at 110.43. This line provided key resistance in the latter part of 2009.
1.0958, which is protecting the key 1.10 level. This line has remained intact since September 2009.
1.0853 is next. This line has held firm since May 2010.
1.0723 was a cap in mid-2010, before the US dollar tumbled and dropped all the way into 0.93 territory.
1.0660 is an important resistance line, last tested in September 2010.
1.0523 was a peak back in November 2011. It had provided strong resistance since July, but has reverted to a support line as USD/CAD moved slightly higher this week. It is a weak line and could see more activity early this week.
1.0446 was a cap in mid-July. The pair broke through this line and it has reverted to a support role. It is not a strong line, and could face more pressure if the Canadian dollar can rebound.
1.0340, which saw a lot of activity in July and August, is providing strong support to the pair as the pair trades close to the 1.05 line.
USD/CAD is receiving support at 1.0250. This line worked as support quite well in July.
1.0180 provided support for the pair during March, and saw a lot of activity in the first half of June. The round number of 1.01 was a trough back in July 2012 and switched to resistance afterwards. The line proved its strength several times in 2013, most recently in mid-May.
1.0050 provided support for the pair in May 2013 and in other occasions beforehand. It remains a barrier before parity. The very round number of parity is a clear line and has provided support since mid-February.
The final support line for now is 0.9910. This line was last tested in January, which marked the start of a strong US dollar rally which saw USD/CAD climb to the mid-1.03 range.
I am bullish on USD/CAD
The Canadian economy continues to struggle, and a weak GDP release certainly won’t inspire more confidence. In the US, the economy continues to improve, and speculation that the Fed could take action and taper QE as early as September could boost the US dollar to higher levels.
Further reading:
- For a broad view of all the week’s major events worldwide, read the USD outlook.
- For EUR/USD, check out the Euro to Dollar forecast.
- For the Japanese yen, read the USD/JPY forecast.
- For GBP/USD (cable), look into the British Pound forecast.
- For the Australian dollar (Aussie), check out the AUD to USD forecast.
- USD/CAD (loonie), check out the Canadian dollar.