USD/CAD edges lower toward 1.3440, crude oil selloff limits pair's losses

• WTI extends slide in the second half of the day, loses more than 2%. 
• Consumer confidence deteriorates in September in the US.
• Falling US T-bond yields and dismal data weigh on the USD.

The USD/CAD spent the majority of the day moving sideways near the 1.3250 handle but came under modest pressure in the last hour amid broad-based USD weakness. As of writing, the pair was down 0.13% on the day at 1.3243.

DXY loses traction

The data published by the Conference Board (CB) today showed that the consumer confidence deteriorated in September with the CB Consumer Confidence Index slumping to 125.1 to miss the market expectation of 133.5 by a wide margin. The disappointing data caused the US Dollar Index to broke below its daily consolidation channel during the American trading hours.

Meanwhile, reports of US House Democrats pushing for US President Trump's impeachment and the lack of positive developments surrounding the US-China trade conflict seem to be weighing on the market sentiment. After closing the last six days in the negative territory, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield extended its slide today and is now losing nearly 4%, putting additional pressure on the US Dollar Index (DXY), which is erasing 0.14% on a daily basis.

On the other hand, falling crude oil prices make it difficult for the commodity-sensitive Loonie to outperform the USD. Hurt by the risk-off flows, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate is trading at $57.30, losing more than 2% on the day. Later in the session, the American Petroleum Institue's weekly crude oil inventory report will be looked upon for fresh impetus.

The economic docket tomorrow won't be featuring any significant macroeconomic data releases from the US or Canada.

Technical levels to watch for