USD/CAD steady ahead of FOMC minutes

The Canadian dollar is unchanged in Wednesday trade. Currently, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3171, up 0.03% on the day. Earlier in the day, the pair touched a low of 1.3133, its lowest level since late January.

Federal Reserve Minutes Ahead

Later on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve releases the minutes of its August meeting. The Fed has done its best to support the US economy in the severe circumstances of Covid-19, slashing rates close to zero and expanding QE. Investors will be keeping close tabs on the tone of the minutes. The Fed is projected to maintain a dovish tone, so if the minutes are more hawkish than expected, the US dollar could get a much-needed boost.

Also on Wednesday, OPEC members are holding a meeting to discuss easing production cuts. Oil prices have shown sharp volatility in recent months, as crude prices crashed close to USD11.00 in mid-April. However, oil has since made a strong recovery, as OPEC production cuts and stronger demand for oil have boosted prices to the USD42.00 level. Canada is a major oil producer, so any movement in oil prices could affect the Canadian dollar.

Canada’s inflation dropped in July, pointing to weaker economic activity. The headline reading fell to zero, down sharply from 0.8% beforehand. This missed the estimate of 0.4%. Core CPI declined by 0.1%, after a gain of 0.4% in June.

.

USD/CAD Technical

USD/CAD headed lower in the Asian trade and has steadied in European and North American sessions

  • 1.3215 is the next resistance line. This is followed by resistance at 1.3263
  • USD/CAD tested support at 1.3135 earlier in the North American session. The next support line is 1.3103, protecting the symbolic 1.3100 level

Content 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 Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Market Analyst at OANDA
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.