The USD/CAD currency pair met strong resistance at the 1.3460 level on Friday after both the US and Canada released mixed economic reports. The USD/CAD currency pair has been on an upward trending movement since the start of March, but the rally was brought to a halt on Friday, with pair checking back in the late hours of the day to trade ay 1.3422.

USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis

The Bank of Canada issued a dovish statement regarding a potential rate hike, which effectively indicated that it is likely to hold rates steady this year. The BoC cited a slowing global economy as one of the main factors for this while lower oil prices also played a part. However, the Canadian job market reported impressive data after it added 55.9K jobs in February while wages accelerated to 2.25%, a major improvement from January’s growth of 1.82%.

On the other hand, the US jobs data disappointed after missing expectations. The US labor market added 20k jobs in February, thereby missing the forecasted figure of 180k jobs. However, wage growth accelerated to 3.4%, which provided the greenback with some form of optimism thereby holding the pair steady at around 1.3422 level.

USD/CAD Technical Analysis (the 240-min Chart)

The USD/CAD currency pair made a bullish breakout at the start of the month cutting through the 20-period and the 50-period moving averages on the same day.

The 240-min chart above demonstrates this breakout and the pair now seems set to head downwards again, potentially making a bearish break through the 20-period moving average.

This will make the bears interested by targeting opportunities at around 1.3400 level. On the other hand, the bulls will target opportunities at the current 2-month high of about 1.3460.

USD/CAD Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

Looking at things with a wider view via the daily chart, the current resistance at 1.3460 still holds firm, but this time it is well supported by a crucial Fib level of 23.60%. This provides the bulls with a proper short-term target while the bears will again look to pounce at 1.3400 level.

In summary, the USD/CAD currency pair’s bullish run appears to have found a crucial resistance at the 23.60 Fib level. This ceiling is well supported technically and fundamentally, and this sets the pair for an interesting trading opportunity for both the bulls and the bears.