Ella 
USD/CAD attracted some buyers during Thursday’s Asian session and now appears to have ended a three-day losing streak, but there has been a lack of follow-through. Spot prices remain below the 1.3600 mark as traders look to important macro data from the US and Canada to provide some meaningful impetus.
Economic data released on Thursday include Canada’s monthly GDP report and final U.S. fourth-quarter GDP. Beyond that, the usual weekly jobless claims numbers, existing home sales, and revised Michigan consumer confidence index could influence the US Dollar (USD) trend, which could lead to short-term trading opportunities in USD/CAD . However, the focus will still be on Friday’s U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index.
Meanwhile, hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller overnight cooled hopes of a rate cut and pushed the dollar back closer to its monthly peak, providing some support for the USD/CAD pair. However, the Fed expects policy restrictions to be less restrictive in the future and said it is still expected to cut interest rates by 75 basis points in 2024. This discourages aggressive bets from USD bulls, which is bearish for the pair.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices have gained some follow-on traction on concerns that falling Russian output will tighten global supplies. Additionally, the Israeli-Hamas conflict shows few signs of de-escalation, which continues to fuel concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East and provides additional support for the black liquid. This in turn supports the commodity-linked ruble and limits upside for the USD/CAD pair.
