What do you get when you add a slow WTI market, robust U.S. jobs growth, and a stagnate Canadian labor market? Clearly, you get a bullish breakout in the USD/CAD. Rates are in the green by 30 pips, with intraday bids having pushed the Loonie as high as 1.3402. To say the least, it wasn’t a great scenario for traders holding shorts going into the U.S. session.
In a Live Market Update from Thursday, I issued a sell recommendation for the USD/CAD from 1.3350. The play turned out to be a miserable loser, producing about 10 pips profit before being wiped out. Trades like that are the reason stop losses exist ― the damage could have been much worse.
USD/CAD Technicals
So, where does the Loonie go from here? At press time (12:45 PM EST), rates are well off of 1.3400, but remain above several levels of resistance-turned-support.
Here are a few areas to watch for the remainder of today’s session:
- Support(1): 50% Current Wave Retracement, 1.3373
- Support(2): Bollinger MP/Daily SMA, 1.3369
Overview: While this market is highly correlated to WTI crude oil, it is difficult to pick a direction at this point. WTI is currently non-committal near the $62.50 handle, as it has been most of the week.
However, rotation back toward daily downside support is a likely scenario. Now that this morning’s active news cycle is a thing of the past, price may be in a position to fall back ahead of the weekend break.