The USD/CAD pair ranged for the entirety of last week since the sudden surge in the value of the USD seemed to have little if no effect on the currency pair. However, the USD/CAD had one of the tightest ranges as compared to other pairs since the USD/CAD was unable to go beyond 1.3400 and 1.3600 on both the resistance and support side, which was mostly due to the fact that the increase in the value of the USD was mainly offset by the strength of the CAD.
The CAD has been experiencing significant increases since next week due to an increase in oil prices as the OPEC meeting draws nearer. The market is currently putting in optimistic expectations with regards to the meeting, with deals hopefully being made and statements from various stakeholders are showing that this might be the case once the meeting commences. The Canadian economy is expected to get a boost if ever deals regarding oil production cuts are struck especially since the economy is largely dependent on the production of oil.
For this week, the market is expecting the release of Canadian core retail sales data on Tuesday since this is an efficient indicator of Canadian purchasing power and this could give clues with regards to the general direction of the Canadian economy. The minutes of the FOMC meeting is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, and this is expected to give hints regarding the Fed rate hike on December. The USD/CAD continues to be bullish, and the target for the currency pair is expected to be 1.40 in the next few months. The pair is most likely to be drawn to the said target by the impending Fed rate hike as well as an expected rate cut from Canada.