USD/CAD holds positive ground above 1.3950 on bullish US Dollar

• USD/CAD edges higher to 1.3975 in Friday’s early Asian session.
• The cautious mood of the Fed officials and the Trump trade support the USD. 
• The markets reduced the odds of a 50 bps rate cut at the BoC’s December 11 policy meeting. 

The USD/CAD pair trades with mild gains around 1.3975 during the early Asian session on Friday. The strengthening of the US Dollar (USD) to new 2024 peaks provides some support to the pair. Investors brace for the flash S&P Global Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), along with the final Michigan Consumer Sentiment, which is due later on Friday. 

Recent comments from the Federal Reserve (Fed) officials boost the USD broadly. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on Thursday that it may make sense to the slow pace of Fed rate cuts as inflation is on its way down to 2%. Additionally, markets expect Trump's proposed policies including tax cuts, trade tariffs and deficit spending could trigger a fresh wave of inflation and could compel the US Fed to slow the pace of rate reductions. 

The rising expectation that the Fed may take a slower course in its rate cut path continues to underpin the Greenback. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the USD against a basket of currencies, currently trades near 107.00, the highest level since November 2023. Futures traders are now pricing in a 57.8% odds that the Fed will cut rates by a quarter point, down from around 72.2 % last week, according to data from the CME FedWatch Tool. 

On the other hand, the possibility that the Bank of Canada (BoC) would deliver a second oversized rate cut next month has diminished after the latest Canadian inflation report came in slightly hotter than expected. The markets have priced in a nearly  23% chance of a 50 basis-points (bps) rate cut by the BoC at the December meeting, down from nearly 40% before the inflation report.