USD/CAD – Listless In Thin Holiday Trade

The Canadian dollar is showing little movement on Monday, as USD/CAD trades in the mid-1.08 range in the North American session. On Friday, there was mixed news out of the US, as Building Permits shot higher while UoM Consumer Sentiment weakened in April. Canadian Foreign Securities Purchases disappointed in April, posting a decline. On Monday, trading is light as Canadian markets are closed for a holiday. As well, there are no US releases on Monday, so we could be in for an uneventful day.

In the US, last week ended with encouraging housing numbers. Building Permits jumped to 1.08 million, well above the estimate of 1.01 million. This was the highest level we’ve seen since December 2006. Housing Starts continues to move higher and climbed to 1.07M, compared to the estimate of 0.98M. This marked a five-month high. Meanwhile, UoM Consumer Sentiment dipped to 81.8 points, short of the estimate of 84.7 points.

Although US inflation numbers have not impressed, employment and manufacturing numbers looked sharp last Thursday. Unemployment Claims were outstanding, dropping to 297 thousand last week. This easily beat the estimate of 321 thousand and was the lowest level we’ve seen since May 2007. On the manufacturing front, the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index dipped to 15.4 points, but this was well above the estimate of 13.9 points. As well, Empire State Manufacturing Index climbed to 19.0 points, crushing the estimate of 5.5. This was the indicator’s best showing in two years.

USD/CAD for Monday, May 19, 2014

USD/CAD May 19 at 14:15 GMT

USD/CAD 1.0873 H: 1.0875 L: 1.0850

USD/CAD Technical

• USD/CAD is showing little movement on Monday.
• 1.0852 is fluid and was tested earlier in the day. Will the pair break through this level? There is stronger support at 1.0775.
• On the upside, 1.0906 is a weak resistance line. This is followed by the key level of 1.10.
• Current range: 1.0852 to 1.0906

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1.0852, 1.0775, 1.0706, 1.0678
• Above: 1.0906, 1.10, 1.1094, 1.1177 and 1.1319

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/CAD ratio is almost unchanged in Monday trading. This is consistent with what we are seeing from the pair, which has shown very little activity. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias in favor of the US dollar moving to higher ground.

USD/CAD is listless at the start of the trading week. In the North American session, the pair is steady.

USD/CAD Fundamentals

• There are no Canadian or US releases on Monday.

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.