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• USD/CAD softens to around 1.4380 in Thursday’s early Asian session.
• Fed Minutes signalled a cautious approach to rate cuts.
• Justin Trudeau’s resignation and a rise in crude oil prices support the Loonie. 

The USD/CAD pair weakens to near 1.4380 during the early Asian session on Thursday. The resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and higher crude oil prices provide some support to the Loonie. Traders will take more cues from the Fedspeak on Thursday. The Canadian and the US employment data for December will be the highlights on Friday.

The prospect of a slower pace of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) could lift the Greenback in the near term. The Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) December 17-18 meeting showed policymakers agreed inflation was likely to continue slowing this year but also saw a rising risk that price pressures could remain sticky due to the potential effect of Donald Trump's policies.

On the Loonie front, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, saying he intended to step down from the leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party once a new party leader is chosen. A Canadian election may take place in the spring and must be held on October 20, with polls indicating that the opposition Conservatives will win. This, in turn, boosts the Canadian Dollar (CAD) against the USD. Additionally, a rise in crude oil prices contributes to the CAD’s upside as Canada is the largest oil exporter to the United States.

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