USD/CAD – Unchanged After Christmas Break

The Canadian dollar is showing little change on Monday, as USD/CAD trades in the low-1.16 range in the North American session. The Canadian markets were closed on Thursday and Friday, and traders can expect a very quiet start to the week. There are no US releases on Monday, and no Canadian events until next week.

In the US, there were a host of key events last week, ahead of the Christmas holiday. GDP was red-hot in Q3, jumping 5.0%, ahead of the estimate of 4.6%. This marked the indicator’s strongest gain since the third quarter of 2003. The US economy is expected to continue to surge in 2015, driven by increased consumer spending and lower oil prices. The news was not as positive from Core Durable Goods Orders, which posted a decline of 0.4%, its fourth decline in five readings. The reading was well off the estimate of 1.1%. Durable Goods Orders looked even worse, with a reading of -0.7%. This surprised the markets which had anticipated a strong gain of 3.0%. UoM Consumer Sentiment continues to rise, hitting 93.6 points in December. This marked its highest level since February 2007, as the US consumer remains very optimistic about the economy as we move into 2015. Unemployment Claims posted another solid reading, indicative of a strong US labor market.

USD/CAD for Monday, December 29, 2014

USD/CAD December 29 at 15:15 GMT

USD/CAD 1.1628 H: 1.1642 L: 1.1606

USD/CAD Technical

• USD/CAD has shown little movement during the day, as the pair remains range-bound.
• 1.1580 is a weak support level. 1.1493 is stronger.
• On the upside, 1.1669 is an immediate resistance line. 1.1723 is next.
• Current range: 1.1580 to 1.1669

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1.1580, 1.1493, 1.1414, 1.1278 and 1.1124
• Above: 1.1669, 1.1723, 1.1875 and 1.1975

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/CAD ratio has a majority of short positions, indicative of trader bias towards USD/CAD breaking out of range and moving to lower ground.

*There are no US or Canadian 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.