USD/CAD keeps the red near session lows, just above mid-1.3500s
- USD/CAD came under some fresh selling pressure on Friday and reverse the overnight positive move.
- The ongoing bullish run in oil prices underpinned the loonie and exerted some pressure on the pair.
- The upbeat market mood weighed on the safe-haven USD and contributed to the intraday selling bias.
The USD/CAD pair edged lower during the early North American session and dropped to fresh daily lows, around the 1.3550-45 region in the last hour.
The pair failed to capitalize on its early uptick, rather met with some fresh supply near the 1.3615 region and was being pressured by a combination of factors. The pair snapped two consecutive days of the winning streak and has now reversed the previous day's positive move.
The ongoing bullish run in crude oil prices, gaining around 3.5% for the day to hit over three-month tops, provided a goodish lift to the commodity-linked currency – the loonie. This, in turn, was seen as one of the key factors exerting some pressure on the USD/CAD pair.
The Canadian dollar maintained its bid tone and seemed largely unaffected by Friday's awful release of domestic retail sales figures, which plunged 26.4% in April. Adding to this, core sales (excluding automobile) also missed expectations by a big margin and fell 22%.
On the other hand, the upbeat market mood, despite growing concerns over a surge in new coronavirus cases, continued undermining the US dollar's safe-haven status. This, in turn, did little to impress bulls or lend any support to the USD/CAD pair.
It will now be interesting to see if the pair is able to attract any buying interest at lower levels or the ongoing slide marks the end of the recent bounce from over three-month lows set last Wednesday.
Moving ahead, market participants now look forward to the Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments during a panel discussion for a fresh impetus later during the US session.
Technical levels to watch