The US dollar was mostly unchanged to slightly higher against the Canadian dollar in today’s trade following the release of a myriad of market reports ahead of the Thanksgiving break in the US.
US Durable goods orders jumped 0.6% in October, beating market expectations of a 0.5% fall. The US economy grew 2.1% in the third quarter fueled by private consumption, above forecasts of a 1.9% rise. Only the Chicago PMI came in lower than expected in November with a reading of 46.3 vs a 47.2 forecast.
Nevertheless, while the better-than-expected data modestly underpinned the US dollar, market volatility remained quite low ahead of the Thanksgiving break which may also trigger some end-of-month flows today. Most major pairs moved less than 0.1% during the trading day.
The Canadian dollar was quite resilient against the greenback, pushing the USD/CAD pair from an intraday high of 1.3282 to 1.3271, as of 2:50 p.m. London time.
The loonie was supported by slightly higher oil prices, lower December rate cut probabilities (7%), and news that the CN rail strike had been called off yesterday. Nevertheless, markets are still pricing in a 33.5% risk of a rate cut in January, which seems somewhat elevated given the current economic conditions in Canada.
Technicals remain bearish at the moment with a strong resistance forming around the mid-1.33s. The pair is currently finding some support around the 1.3270 level, which aligns with November 14 high and the 50% Fib retracement level.
However, the pressure at the mentioned support is rising, and a break below the 1.3250 level could pave the road to the November 19 low of 1.3190. The November 20 high of 1.3327 continues to act as a short-term resistance.