Ella 
In early trading in Asia on Wednesday, USD/CAD rose to around 1.3600. The Bank of Canada (BOC) will announce an interest rate decision later in the day and is expected to keep interest rates unchanged. USD/CAD is currently trading around 1.3598, up 0.03% on the day.
The Bank of Canada is due to release a monetary policy statement on Wednesday and is expected to hold interest rates steady at 5% for the fifth time in a row. Financial markets believe that the probability of the Bank of Canada unexpectedly cutting interest rates at its March Italee policy meeting on Wednesday is only 19%. Traders will take key signals from the press conference on the outlook for the economy and inflation.
On the dollar front, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday will be closely watched. Dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials may put some selling pressure on the US dollar and be negative for USD/CAD.
In terms of data, the U.S. ISM Services Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 52.6 in February from 53.4 in January, below expectations of 53.0. The new orders index rose to 56.1 from the previous reading of 55.0. The employment index fell to 48.0 from the previous reading of 50.5, and the price paid index fell to 58.6 from the previous reading of 64.0.
