USD/CAD consolidates near weekly tops, Canadian GDP/US data awaited

   •  Subdued USD demand fails to provide any fresh bullish impetus. 
   •  Bullish oil prices further collaborate towards capping gains.
   •  Traders await Canadian/US macro data for some fresh impetus.

The USD/CAD pair seesawed between tepid gains/minor losses and was seen consolidating near weekly tops, comfortably above the 1.2900 handle.

A subdued US Dollar price action, led by a weaker tone around the US Treasury bond yields, failed to assist the pair to build on this week's strong rebound from the 1.2800 neighborhood. This coupled with bullish oil prices underpinned demand for the commodity-linked currency - Loonie and further collaborated towards capping the pair just below the 1.2935-40 supply zone. 

Moreover, traders also seemed reluctant to place any aggressive bets ahead of today's important economic releases, including the monthly Canadian GDP print, and eventually led to range-bound/subdued price action through the early European session on Thursday. 

Apart from the Canadian growth figures, the release of Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), along with US macro data - core PCE price index (the Fed's preferred inflation gauge), personal income/spending data, usual initial weekly jobless claims, Chicago PMI and revised UoM consumer sentiment, might also contribute towards providing some meaningful impetus later during the early NA session.

Technical levels to watch

On a sustained move beyond the 1.2935-40 hurdle, a fresh bout of short-covering has the potential to lift the pair towards reclaiming the key 1.30 psychological mark. On the flip side, weakness back below the 1.2900 handle, leading to a subsequent breakthrough 1.2885 support, could drag the pair back towards 1.2840-35 intermediate zone en-route the 1.2815-10 strong support.