• USD/CAD sustains above 1.3950 as the near-term outlook of the US Dollar remains firm.
• US Initial Jobless Claims came in lower at 213K than estimates of 220K.
• Traders have trimmed BoC outsize interest rate cut bets for the December meeting.

The USD/CAD pair ticks down but holds the immediate support of 1.3950 in Thursday’s North American session. The Loonie pair strives to resume its upside journey on US Dollar’s (USD) firm near-term outlook backed by growing doubts over whether the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in the December meeting.

The Fed started its policy-easing cycle with a 50 basis points (bps) interest rate cut in September and took forward the process to this month with 25 bps interest rate reduction. However, traders seem to be indecisive about the continuation of the rate-cut cycle for next month on expectations that the implementation of President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda will boost United States (US) inflation and economic growth.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, ticks down in the North American session to near 106.50 after the release of the Initial Jobless Claims data for the week ending November 15. The Greenback drops even though the Department of Labor reported that individuals claiming jobless benefits for the first time came in lower at 213K than estimates of 220K and the former release of 219K, upwardly revised from 217 K.