USD/CAD – Modest Losses After Excellent Canadian Housing Numbers

USD/CAD has edged lower on Monday, as the pair trades in the low-1.09 range in the North American session. It’s a quiet start to the new week, with no US releases on the schedule. In Canada, today’s sole event was Housing Sales, which impressed with its best showing in seven months.

Canadian numbers kicked off the new trading week on the right foot, as Housing Sales hit 198 thousand in May, easily beating the estimate of 185 thousand. This points to strong activity in the Canadian housing sector, a critical component of economic growth. Last week’s key events were major disappointments, as Building Permits and Ivey PMI both fell way short of expectations.

In the US, employment numbers were solid late last week. Unemployment Claims and Nonfarm Payrolls, both key indicators, met market expectations. Unemployment Claims came in at 312 thousand, slightly above the estimate of 309 thousand. Nonfarm Employment Change met modest expectations on Friday, adding 217 thousand new jobs. The estimate stood at 214 thousand. The Unemployment Rate stayed pegged at 6.3%, beating the estimate of 6.4%. Solid employment numbers add to the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will continue to trim its QE program, which it plans to wind up by the end of 2014.

USD/CAD for Monday, June 9, 2014

USD/CAD June 9 at 14:10 GMT

USD/CAD 1.0922 H: 1.0941 L: 1.0912

USD/CAD Technical

• The round number of 1.1000 is providing resistance. This is followed by resistance at 1.1094.
• 1.0906 remains a weak support line and could break. The next support line is at 1.0852.
• Current range: 1.0906 to 1.1000

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1.0906, 1.0852, 1.0775, 1.0706 and 1.0678
• Above: 1.10, 1.1094, 1.1177 and 1.1278

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/CAD ratio is pointing to gains in short positions on Monday. This is consistent with the pair’s movement, as the Canadian dollar has posted slight gains. The pair is almost evenly split between long and short open positions, indicative of a lack of trader bias as to the direction that the pair will take.

The Canadian dollar has started off the week with slight gains. The pair is unchanged in the North American session.

USD/CAD Fundamentals

• 12:13 Canadian Housing Starts. Estimate 185K. Actual 198K.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

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