The USD/CAD was closed at 1.34980 after placing a high of 1.35411 and a low of 1.34676. Overall the movement of pair USD/CAD remained flat throughout the day. After dropping for three consecutive days, the USD/CAD pair moved in a consolidation range on Thursday on the back of the weak US dollar and Canadian Dollar.
The US dollar struggled to find demand on Thursday as multiple factors exerted pressure on it. The increased tension between the US & China, the strength of Euro due to announcement of the renewed package from ECB and poor than expected jobless claims.
On Thursday, some aggressive selling of the US dollar was seen after its rival currency Euro took its upward pace on the back of the new bond-buying package announcement from ECB. Along with that, poor-than-expected jobless claims from the United States last week also exerted pressure on the US dollar.
The number of expected unemployment claims for last week from the United States was 1.82M, but the actual claims made were 1.88M, and hence, the US dollar faced pressure and added in the downward trend of USD/CAD pair.
Rising tensions between China & the US after the US decided to ban Chinese airlines entering the US from June 16 in response to China's decision to stop American carriers from re-entering China. Both sides do not show any sign of relaxation and continue to backfire on each other and have raised fears amongst investors for a potential trade war.
On the other hand, the Canadian Dollar was also weak on Thursday after the release of Trade Balance data at 17:30 GMT. The Trade Balance in April showed a deficit of 3.3B against the expected deficit of 2.7 and weighed on Loonie. CAD's weakness moved the pair USD/CAD a little higher and removed earlier losses of the day.
Adding in the weakness of the Canadian Dollar was the weaker tone around crude oil prices, which also helped limit the loss of USD/CAD pair. The weakness of the US dollar moved the pair in a downward direction, and Loonie's inclination pushed the pair higher. Hence the currency pair remained flat throughout the day.
Daily Technical Levels
Support Resistance
1.3463 1.3538
1.3427 1.3577
1.3388 1.3613
Pivot point: 1.3502
The USD/CAD pair continues to trade sideways in between 1.3550 - 1.3480 level. The series of doji and spinning top candles are suggesting indecision among traders. It seems like traders are bracing for the NFP figures, where the positive NFP data will drive the bullish movement until 1.3550 and 1.3650 level. While negative data can trigger selling until 1.3385, so brace yourself to capture a breakout. Good luck!