USD/CAD little changed after US existing home sales report

US dollar was trading little changed against its Canadian counterpart during early US trade on Monday, after the release of the existing home sales report out of the United States and ahead of the September non-farm payrolls data, scheduled for release tomorrow.

USD/CAD hit a session high at 1.0304 at 12:55 GMT, after which consolidation followed at 1.0296, gaining 0.05% for the day. Support was likely to be received at October 18th low and also the lowest point in three weeks, 1.0276, while resistance was to be encountered at October 17th high, 1.0331.

Existing home sales in the United States has decreased in September, according to official data released minutes ago, which suggested that rising interest rates during the summer period have curbed the housing market momentum. Sales dropped 1.9% in September on a monthly basis, reaching 5.29 million houses. The rate of increase in August has been revised down to 5.39 million units from the initially estimated 5.48 million. However, existing home sales in July and August have reached their highest level since 2009. Analysts expect that home sales in the United States will remain almost without change during 2014 in comparison with the current year.

On the other hand, the private sector in the United States probably added 180 000 new job positions in September, following the 169 000 jobs added during the preceding month, according to the median estimate of experts. The non-farm payrolls report is due to be released tomorrow, as it has initially been scheduled for release on October 4th.

Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar snapped a three-day gain against the greenback ahead of the interest rate decision by Royal Bank of Canada and the release of its monetary policy report on October 23rd. The central bank is expected to revise down its growth outlook for Canada, after Senior Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem said earlier in October, that the nation’s economy will expand at a slower pace than initially projected. Royal Bank of Canada will probably maintain its benchmark interest rate at 1%, according to the median estimate of 22 economists participated in a survey by Bloomberg News.

The loonie, as Canadian currency is also nicknamed, demonstrated a slight reaction to the official data, which revealed that wholesale sales in Canada rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in August, in comparison with preliminary estimates of a 0.3% gain and following the 1.7% climb in July, as the latter was a revision up from a 1.5% gain previously.

Elsewhere, the Canadian dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD cross down 0.07% on a daily basis to trade at 1.4080 at 14:30 GMT. GBP/CAD pair was steady, trading at 1.6646 at 14:32 GMT, ticking up a mere 0.01%.