USD/CAD – Slight Losses As US Key Numbers Slip

USD/CAD has posted slight losses in Thursday trade, as the pair is in the mid-1.08 range in the North American session. In the US, retail sales numbers were weak and Unemployment Claims were well above the estimate. In Canada, NHPI and Capacity Utilization Rate both met expectations.

Thursday’s key US events were a major disappointment, as retail sales and employment numbers were weak. Retail Sales came in at 0.3%, short of the estimate of 0.5%. Core Retail Sales could only muster a gain of 0.1%, shy of the forecast of 0.4%. Unemployment Claims, one of the most important economic indicators, rose to 317 thousand, missing market expectations of 306 thousand.

In Canada, the New Housing Price Index continues to post small gains. The indicator, an important gauge of activity in the housing industry, posted its third straight gain of 0.2%, and has not climbed above 0.3% in 2014. There was better news from Housing Starts earlier in the week, as the indicator rose to a seven-month high. We’ll get look at Manufacturing Sales, the highlight event of the week, on Friday.

USD/CAD for Thursday, June 12, 2014

USD/CAD June 12 at 14:00 GMT

USD/CAD 1.0852 H: 1.0870 L: 1.0842

USD/CAD Technical

• 1.0906 is the next resistance line. The round number of 1.1000 is stronger.
•  The pair is testing support at 1.0852. The next support is at 1.0775.
• Current range: 1.0852 to 1.0906

Further levels in both directions:

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

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/CAD ratio is almost unchanged on Thursday, continuing the trend we’ve seen for most of the week. This is not consistent with the pair’s movement, as the Canadian dollar has gained ground. The pair has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the US dollar reversing directions and posting gains.

The Canadian dollar continues to post gains on Thursday. The pair is unchanged in the North American session.

USD/CAD Fundamentals

• 12:30 Canadian NHPI. Estimate 0.3%. Actual 0.2%.
• 12:30 Canadian Capacity Utilization Rate. Estimate 82.6%. Actual 82.5%.
• 12:30 US Core Retail Sales. Estimate 0.4%. Actual 0.1%. 
• 12:30 US Retail Sales. Estimate 0.5%. Actual 0.3%.
• 12:30 US Unemployment Claims. Estimate 306K. Actual 317K.
• 12:30 US Import Prices. Estimate 0.2%. Actual 0.1%.
• 14:00 US Business Inventories. Estimate 0.4%. Actual 0.6%.
• 14:30 US Natural Gas Storage. Estimate 111B. Actual 107B.
• 17:01 US 30-year Bond Auction.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

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.