USD/CAD – Canadian Dollar Unchanged, No Fundamentals to Start Off Week

The Canadian dollar is almost unchanged in the Monday session, after posting losses on Friday. Currently, USD/CAD is trading at 1.2493, up 0.07% on the day. On the release front, there are no Canadian or US events on the schedule, so traders can expect the pair to have a quiet day. In the US, banks and stock markets are closed for Presidents’ Day.

The Canadian dollar posted losses on Friday, but managed to post slight gains last week. The currency weakened on Friday, after the US posted sharp housing and consumer confidence reports. Building Permits jumped to 1.40 million in January, up from 1.30 million in December. This easily beat the estimate of 1.29 million. Housing Starts followed suit and improved to 1.33 million in January, up from 1.19 million a month earlier. This was well above the forecast of 1.28 million. There was more positive news from consumer confidence, as UoM Consumer Confidence climbed to 99.9, well above the estimate of 95.4 points. This marked a 4-month high. On Wednesday, the Canadian dollar recorded its best one-day performance in 2018, gaining close to 1 percent against the greenback. The US dollar sagged as investors focused on poor retail sales reports in January. Retail Sales was flat at 0.0%, short of the estimate of 0.5%. Core Retail Sales declined 0.3%, well off the forecast of +0.2%.

Should cryptocurrencies be regulated? Bitcoin has seen wild fluctuations in recent months, ranging from under $1000 to just under $20,000. There are growing calls for these currencies to be regulated, and central banks could play a key role in such a move. However, last week, ECB President Mario Draghi poured cold water on any ECB involvement, saying that it was not the ECB’s responsibility to ban or regulate Bitcoin. Draghi added that the ECB was exploring the use of blockchain, a digital technology to monitor bitcoin transactions. Still, with Bitcoin gaining more and more popularity, the Bank of Canada and other central banks will have to pay greater to attention to the impact of Bitcoin on the currency markets.

USD/CAD Fundamentals

Monday (February 19)

• There are no US or Canadian indicators

Tuesday (February 20)

• 8:30 Canadian Wholesale Sales

*All release times are GMT

*Key events are in bold

USD/CAD for Monday, February 19, 2018

USD/CAD, February 19 at 8:05 EST

Open: 1.2555 High: 1.2566 Low: 1.2527 Close: 1.2563

USD/CAD Technical

USD/CAD ticked lower in the Asian session but has recovered in European trade

• 1.2494 is providing support
• 1.2561 is the next resistance line
• Current range: 1.2494 to 1.2630

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1.2494, 1.2351, 1.2190 and 1.2060
• Above: 1.2630, 1.2757 and 1.2855

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/CAD ratio is showing little movement in the Monday session. Currently, short positions have a slender majority (52%), indicative of slight trader bias towards USD/CAD breaking out and moving lower.

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.