USD/CAD recovers further from 2-week lows, bulls eyeing a move beyond 1.3200 handle
• The USD remains supported by reviving hopes for a possible Fed rate hike in 2019.
• The uptick seemed rather unaffected by a fresh leg of an up-move in crude oil prices.
• Traders now eye US macro data/speech by BoC Poloz for some meaningful impetus.
The USD/CAD pair held on to its positive tone through the early European session, with bulls now looking to build on the momentum further beyond the 1.3200 handle.
The pair stalled its recent decline from near three-week tops, set last week, and managed to find decent support near the very important 200-day SMA following the release of the latest FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday.
The US Dollar inched up after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting in January revealed division among the policymakers with regards to future rates policy and revived hopes for a possible rate hike in 2019.
The uptick extended on Thursday, albeit remained capped on the back of a fresh leg of a bullish move in crude oil prices, which tend to underpin demand for the commodity-linked currency - Loonie.
Oil prices hovered close to 2019 highs and remained supported by OPEC-led supply cuts, US sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, though concerns about slowing global economic growth seemed to cap further gains.
It would now be interesting to see if the pair is able to build on the attempted recovery move as the focus now shifts to the US economic docket, highlighting the release of durable goods orders data and Philly Fed manufacturing index.
Later during the US trading session, the BoC Governor Stephen Poloz is scheduled to speak about monetary policy at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and might infuse some volatility around the major.
Technical levels to watch
Any subsequent up-move is likely to confront some fresh supply near the 1.3235-40 region (100-day SMA), above which the pair is likely to make a fresh attempt towards reclaiming the 1.3300 round figure mark.
On the flip side, the 1.3145-40 region (200-DMA) might continue to protect the immediate downside, which if broken decisively might turn the pair vulnerable to break below the 1.3100 round figure mark.