USD/CAD leaps above 1.3150 on Canada GDP data

• Canadian GDP contracts in November.
• Industrial Product Price in Canada declines by 0.7%.
• US Dollar Index stays in the negative territory on Thursday.

The USD/CAD pair gained traction in the last hour and rose to a session high of 1.3160 as the loonie came under pressure following the Canadian GDP data. As of writing, the pair was trading a couple of pips below that recent high, adding 0.1% on the day.

Statistics Canada on Thursday reported that the Canadian GDP contracted by 0.1% on a monthly basis in November. Additionally, a separate report revealed that the Industrial Product Prices (IPP) declined by 0.7% to miss the market expectation for a 0.2% increase. 

On the other hand, the greenback, which came under heavy selling pressure on Wednesday after the FOMC announced that it would be patient with further rate increases, struggles to recover its losses and limits the pair's gains for the time being. At the moment the DXY is down 0.06% on the day at 95.34. Furthermore, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate adds 0.8% today to help the commodity-sensitive loonie show some resilience against its rivals.

Later in the session, Chicago PMI and new home sales data from the U.S. will be looked upon for fresh impetus. 

Technical levels to consider

The pair could face the first resistance at 1.3200 (psychological level) ahead of 1.3280 (Jan. 30 high) and 1.3355 (Jan. 25 high). On the downside, supports align at 1.3120 (daily low/Jan. 30 low), 1.3085 (Nov. 8 low) and 1.3000 (psychological level). Meanwhile, the RSI indicator on the daily chart remains a little above the 30 mark, suggesting that sellers are still in control of the pair's price action.