USD/CAD ticks higher to mid-1.3100s, still below the overnight swing high

• The USD remains well supported by tempered Fed rate cut bets and helped gain some traction.
• A goodish pickup in Crude Oil prices underpinned Loonie and kept a lid on any strong up-move.

The USD/CAD pair traded with a mild positive bias for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday and is currently placed at session tops, just below mid-1.3100s.

After the previous session's late pullback from near one-month tops, the pair managed to regain some positive traction on Wednesday, albeit a combination of diverging forces failed to provide any meaningful impetus.

The US Dollar stood tall near five-week tops and remained well supported by the fact that investors continued scaling back expectations of a 50 bps rate cut by the Fed at its upcoming monetary policy meeting on July 30-31.

The positive factor, to some extent, was offset by a goodish pickup in Crude Oil prices, which extended some support to the commodity-linked currency - Loonie and kept a lid on any strong positive move for the major.

Oil prices moved higher on Wednesday amid lingering concerns over escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle Ease and the overnight report, showing that the US crude stocks fell more than expected in the week to July 19.

Hence, it will be prudent to wait for a strong follow-through buying before confirming that a near-term bottom is already in place and positioning for any further recovery, possibly beyond the 1.3200 round figure mark.

Later during the early North-American session, the US economic docket - featuring the releases of flash PMI prints, along with New Home Sales data for June will be looked upon for some short-term trading opportunities. 

Technical levels to watch