USD/CAD – Steady as US Housing Data Slides

The Canadian dollar is steady on Monday, as USD/CAD trades in the mid-1.25 range. On the release front, there is just one release on the calendar to start the week. US Existing Home Sales was down sharply, dipping to 4.82 million. There are no Canadian releases on Monday.

US releases started the week on a sour note, as Existing Home Sales slipped to 4.82 million in January, well off the estimate of 5.03 million. This marked a 9-month low for the key indicator. We’ll get a look at New Home Sales on Wednesday. Late last week, US key numbers were mixed. Unemployment Claims rebounded strongly with a sharp drop of 283 thousand, compared to 304 thousand a week earlier. This easily beat the estimate of 293 thousand. The news was not as good from the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, which slipped to 5.2 points, down from 5.3 points and a third straight drop. The markets had expected a reading of 8.8 points.

USD/CAD for Monday, February 23, 2015

USD/CAD February 23 at 16:25 GMT

USD/CAD 1.2570 H: 1.2624 L: 1.2534

USD/CAD Technical

• USD/CAD was flat in the Asian session. The pair moved higher in the European session, but has given up most of these gains in North American trade.
• 1.2680 is an immediate resistance line.
• 1.2543 is providing weak support. 1.2469 is stronger.
• Current range: 1.2543 to 1.2680

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1.2543, 1.2469, 1.2387, 1.2261 and 1.2190
• Above: 1.2680, 1.2761 and 1.2950

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

USD/CAD ratio is pointing to gains in short positions on Monday. This is not consistent with the pair’s movement, as the Canadian dollar has posted small losses. The ratio has a majority of short positions, indicative of trader bias towards USD/CAD moving to lower ground.

USD/CAD Fundamentals

• 15:00 US Existing Home Sales. Estimate 5.03M. Actual 4.82M.

*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.