USD/CAD bulls struggle to build on momentum beyond 1.30 handle

   •  USD fails to preserve early gains and does little to provide any fresh impetus.
   •  Bullish oil prices underpin Loonie and further contribute towards capping gains.
   •  Traders now eye US CPI print in order to grab some short-term opportunities.

The USD/CAD pair continued with its struggle to sustain/build on the momentum beyond the key 1.30 psychological mark and has now retreated around 25-pips from session tops. 

Despite positive headlines coming out of the historic Trump-Kim summit and a modest uptick in the US Treasury bond yields, the US Dollar failed to preserve early gains and did little to assist the pair to build on its early gains. 

Adding to this, a follow-through positive move in crude oil prices underpinned demand for the commodity-linked currency - Loonie and further collaborated towards keeping a lid on any subsequent strong up-move for the major. 

Meanwhile, investors remain nervous over the effect of recent confrontation between the US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the crucial G-7 meeting on NAFTA deal, which kept CAD bulls on the back-foot and might help limit any immediate sharp downside for the major. 

Later during the early North American session, the release of latest US consumer inflation figures will now be looked upon for some meaningful impetus ahead of the highly anticipated FOMC monetary policy update on Wednesday.

Technical levels to watch

Sustained move beyond the 1.3020-30 immediate hurdle has the potential to lift the pair back towards 1.3075-80 supply zone en-route the 1.3100 handle. On the flip side, the 1.2965 level might continue to protect the immediate downside, which if broken could accelerate the downfall towards the 1.2900 handle ahead of 50-day SMA support.