USD/CAD – Slight Gains to Start off Week

USD/CAD has posted slight gains on Monday, as the pair trades in the low-1.13 range. On the release front, Canadian Foreign Securities Purchases dropped sharply and missed expectations. In the US, the Empire State Manufacturing Index showed a strong improvement in November, with a reading of 10.2 points.

Canadian Foreign Securities Purchases looked weak in September, with a reading of just C$4.37 billion, compared to C$10.28 billion a month earlier. This was well short of the estimate of C$11.32 billion. The Canadian dollar posted strong gains on Friday, taking advantage of an excellent Manufacturing Sales report. The key indicator posted a gain of 2.1%, easily exceeding the forecast of 1.3%.

US consumer indicators looked strong on Friday. Retail Sales and Core Retail Sales both posted gains of 0.3%, edging above the estimate of 0.2%. UoM Consumer Sentiment continued its upward trend, climbing to 89.7 points in November. This was the indicator’s strongest performance since July 2007. Meanwhile, US Unemployment Claims has looked solid in recent readings, but the key indicator jumped to 290 thousand, missing the estimate of 282 thousand. This marked a seven-week high for the key indicator. The news wasn’t any better from JOLTS Jobs Openings, which weakened to 4.74M, down from 4.84M a month earlier. The estimate stood at 4.81M.

USD/CAD for Monday, November 17, 2014

USD/CAD November 17 at 15:45 GMT

USD/CAD 1.1316 H: 1.1327 L: 1.1269

USD/CAD Technical

• USD/CAD posted gains in the Asian and European sessions. The pair is steady early in North American trade.
• 1.1278 is a weak support line. 1.1124 is next.
• 1.1414 is a strong resistance line.
• Current range: 1.1278 to 1.1414

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1.1278, 1.1124, 1.1004 and 1.0961
• Above: 1.1414, 1.1493, 1.1669, 1.1723 and 1.1875

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/CAD ratio is pointing to gains in long positions on Monday. This is consistent with the movement of the pair, as the US dollar has posted slight gains. The ratio is close to an event split between long and short positions, indicative of a lack of trader bias as to what direction USD/CAD will take.

USD/CAD Fundamentals

• 13:30 Canadian Foreign Securities Purchases. Estimate 11.32B. Actual 4.37B.
• 13:30 US Empire State Manufacturing Index. Estimate 12.1 points. Actual 10.2 points.
• 14:15 US Capacity Utilization Rate. Estimate 79.3%. Actual 78.9%.
• 14:15 US Industrial Production. Estimate 0.2%. Actual -0.1%.

* 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.