USD/CAD stands firm near its highest level since August, above 1.3900 mark

• USD/CAD continues to attract buyers and draw support from a combination of factors. 
• Bets for a larger BoC rate cut, along with bearish Crude Oil prices, undermine the Loonie.
• Expectations for a less aggressive Fed easing lend support to the Greenback and the pair.

The USD/CAD pair trades near its highest level since August 5, around the 1.3920-1.3925 region during the Asian session on Wednesday and seems poised to prolong its recent upward trajectory witnessed over the past month or so. A combination of factors might continue to weigh on the Canadian Dollar (CAD), which, along with the emergence of some US Dollar (USD) dip-buying, validate the near-term positive outlook for the currency pair. 

The Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor Tiff Macklem sounded dovish last Friday and said that the headline GDP will be lower if population growth slows faster than assumed. Furthermore, Macklem, speaking to the House of Commons finance committee on Tuesday, reiterated that the central bank would be able to cut rates further if the economy evolved broadly in line with forecasts. Adding to this, the recent slump in Crude Oil prices, triggered by concerns about flagging global demand growth, is seen undermining the commodity-linked Loonie and acting as a tailwind for the USD/CAD pair. 

The US Dollar (USD), on the other hand, attracts some dip-buying and stalls the previous day's modest pullback from its highest level since July 30 amid growing acceptance that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will proceed with smaller rate cuts. Adding to this concerns that the spending plans of Vice President Kamala Harris and the Republican nominee Donald Trump will further increase the deficit remain supportive of elevated US Treasury bond yields. This, in turn, supports prospects for a further USD appreciation and suggests that the path of least resistance for the USD/CAD pair is to the upside. 

Traders, however, might refrain from placing aggressive bets and opt to move to the sidelines ahead of key US macro releases, featuring the ADP report on private-sector employment and the Advance Q3 GDP print. The market attention will then shift to the US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index on Thursday and the closely watched US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report on Friday. The data should provide fresh cues about the Fed's interest rate outlook, which, in turn, will influence the USD price dynamics and help determine the next leg of a directional move for the USD/CAD pair.