Loonie slightly recovers from 12-1/2 Year lows

The USD/CAD pair edged down amid thin trade on Monday, with markets largely focused on the oil price outlook. Today China also released GDP data with negative figures.

• US markets were shut yesterday in observance of Martin Luther King Day and therefore liquidity was minimal, resulting in only small movements. Moreover, the lack of Canadian macro data today will most likely result in the pair being driven solely by oil prices and market sentiment.
   
• WTI crude oil is trading above 29 handle after dipping to as low as 28.36 yesterday.
   
• Traders are also keeping a very close eye on the Bank of Canada's (BoC) interest rate announcement scheduled for Wednesday. The market is projecting that the central bank will cut the rate for the third time in a year, bringing it down to a record low of 0.25%.
   
• To the top side resistance levels are seen at 1.4548 and 1.4605 levels.
   
• Alternatively, reversal from this level may take the parity towards 1.4430 and 1.4374 support levels.