USD/CAD Flat Ahead of US Inflation, Consumer Confidence Data

USD/CAD is steady on Friday, as the pair continues to trade in the mid-1.08 range in the North American session. On the release front, the US will publish two key events later in the day – PPI and UoM Consumer Sentiment. In Canada, we’ll get a look at Manufacturing Sales, the key event of the week. The markets are expecting a strong gain in May.

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. USD/CAD has been listless, but this could change following the release of Manufacturing Sales, a market-mover.

USD/CAD for Friday, June 13, 2014

USD/CAD June 13 at 11:45 GMT

USD/CAD 1.0858 H: 1.0862 L: 1.0849

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 pointing to gains on Friday. This is consistent with the pair’s movement, as the Canadian dollar has posted small gains. The pair has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the US dollar posting gains.

The Canadian dollar is flat on Friday. The pair is almost unchanged in the European session.

USD/CAD Fundamentals

• 12:30 Canadian Manufacturing Sales. Estimate 0.9%.
• 12:30 US PPI. Estimate 0.1%.
• 12:30 US Core PPI. Estimate 0.2%.
• 13:55 US Preliminary UoM Consumer Sentiment. Estimate 83.2 points.
• 13:55 US Preliminary UoM Inflation Expectations.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

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