Photo by Michelle Spollen on Unsplash

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) found itself on the high side of the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday after US Retail Sales missed expectations and shrank in January. The Greenback’s midweek surge on CPI-fueled risk aversion is getting pared back, and the CAD is finding additional support from recovering Crude Oil bids heading into the back end of the trading week.

Canadian Housing Starts came in below expectations, but the low-impact data saw little market movement as investors broadly focus on shifts in US data prints. A rebound in Crude Oil also bolsters the Canadian Dollar.

Daily digest market movers: US Retail Sales miss sparks Greenback weakness on Thursday

• US Retail Sales declined 0.8% in January, well below the -0.1% forecast.
• December’s US Retail Sales saw a downside revision to 0.4% from 0.6%.
• US Retail Sales excluding Autos also fell 0.6% MoM in January versus the 0.2% forecast.
• January’s US Industrial Production also fell 0.1% MoM versus the forecast of 0.3%, piling onto December’s 0.0% (revised from 0.1%).
• US Initial Jobless Claims printed at 212K versus the forecast of 220K for the week ended February 9, while the previous week saw a revision to 220K from 218K.
• Canadian Housing Starts settled to 223.6K for the year ending in January versus the 235K forecast, down even further from the previous period’s 248.9K (revised down from 249.3K).
• Crude Oil markets see a sharp recovery on Thursday after Wednesday’s stark decline.
• West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US Crude Oil barrels are back over $77.00, testing $77.50 during the US trading session.
• Friday is set to wrap up the trading week with US Producer Price Index (PPI) figures and the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.
• US PPI for the year ended January is forecast to tick down to 1.6% from 1.8%.
• The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for February is expected to improve slightly to 80.0 from 79.0.

Canadian Dollar price today

The table below shows the percentage change of Canadian Dollar (CAD) against listed major currencies today. Canadian Dollar was the strongest against the US Dollar.

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).

Technical analysis: Canadian Dollar claws back ground against the Greenback

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) recovered around a quarter of a percent against the US Dollar on Thursday, while shedding a quarter of a percent against the market’s strongest currency for the day in the Swiss Franc (CHF). The US Dollar is broadly softer in the back half of the trading week, giving the Canadian Dollar a leg up.

USD/CAD tumbled into an intraday low of 1.3475 on Thursday, and the pair is running into near-term technical support from the 200-hour Simple Moving Average (SMA) near 1.3494 as bids grapple with the 1.3500 handle.

Daily candlesticks continue to see friction from the 200-day SMA at 1.3478. Despite USD/CAD testing new highs consistently, progress has been thin as the pair threatens to tip into a consolidation pattern between 1.3400 and 13600.

USD/CAD hourly chart

(Click on image to enlarge)

USD/CAD daily chart

(Click on image to enlarge)

More By This Author: