USD/CAD weakens further below 1.29 handle, CAD/US jobs report in focus

   •  Easing global trade-war fears prompts some fresh selling.
   •  Positive oil prices underpin commodity-linked Loonie.
   •  Today’s US/Canadian jobs report might provide a fresh directional impetus. 

The USD/CAD pair traded with a mild negative bias through the early European session on Friday and is now headed back to previous session's swing lows. 

After this week's repeated failures to break through the key 1.30 psychological mark, the pair on Thursday once again dropped back to retest the 1.2865 strong horizontal support. The US President Donald Trump formally announced tariffs on steel and aluminium imports but exempted Canada and Mexico, for now, and provided a minor boost to the Canadian Dollar. 

The pair remained under some selling pressure on Friday and was not being weighed down by a positive trading sentiment around crude oil prices, which was seen underpinning demand for the commodity-linked currency - Loonie. 

Meanwhile, a subdued US Dollar price action did little to influence the pair's momentum, with some repositioning trade, ahead of today's monthly jobs report from the US and Canada, further collaborating to the pair's offered tone. 

The key focus would be on the US non-farm payrolls data, which might influence the Fed rate hike expectations and eventually help determine the pair's next leg of directional move. 

Technical levels to watch

A decisive break below the 1.2865 immediate support is likely to accelerate the fall towards 1.2825 horizontal support en-route the 1.2800 round figure mark. On the upside, the 1.2900-1.2910 region now seems to have emerged as immediate resistance, above which the pair is likely to make a fresh attempt towards conquering the 1.30 handle.