USD/CAD climbs to over 1-month tops, inching back closer to 1.3200 handle

   •  Pickup in the US bond yields supports the prevalent USD strength.
   •  Bullish traders shrug off the ongoing bullish run in crude oil prices. 
   •  Technical buying above 1.3100 handle provides an additional boost.

The USD/CAD pair continued scaling higher through the early North-American session and is currently hovering near the 1.3170-75 region, the highest since July 24.

Growing concerns about a possible escalation in global trade conflict benefitted the US Dollar's safe-haven status, which was seen as one of the key factors behind the pair's strong up-move for the fourth consecutive session. 

A goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields remained supportive of the strong bid surrounding the greenback, with fading NAFTA optimism further weighing on the Canadian Dollar and providing an additional lift to the major.

Meanwhile, bullish traders seemed rather unaffected by a strong follow-through bullish run in crude oil prices, which tend to underpin demand for the commodity-linked currency - Loonie but did little to hinder the pair's ongoing positive momentum. 

Today's strong up-move could further be attributed to some technical buying, especially after a bullish break through an important confluence barrier, comprising of 50-day SMA and a two-month-old descending trend-channel resistance. 

Traders now look forward to the US economic docket, highlighting the release of ISM manufacturing PMI, in order to grab some short-term opportunities. The key focus, however, would be on the latest BoC monetary policy update on Wednesday, which along with the closely watched US non-farm payrolls data should help determine the pair's next leg of directional move. 

Technical levels to watch

A follow-through buying has the potential to continue lifting the pair further towards reclaiming the 1.3200 handle ahead of the 1.3215-20 supply zone. On the flip side, any retracement back below mid-1.3100s is likely to be limited and seems to attract fresh buying near the 1.3100-1.3095 resistance break-point, now turned important support.