Canadian Dollar weakens despite higher oil prices

USD/CAD gains ground for the second consecutive day, trading around 1.4210 during the Asian hours on Monday. The upside of the pair could be restrained as the commodity-linked Canadian Dollar (CAD) could receive support from higher oil prices.

Oil traders are moving cautiously while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz appears to be stabilizing; expected production hikes from OPEC+ (The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+), including Russia) have renewed fears of a global supply glut.

Several tankers made unexplained detours on Saturday, and shipping lanes through the critical chokepoint normalized by Sunday. Meanwhile, OPEC+ approved a modest output hike of 188,000 barrels per day for next month, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, a move signaling confidence in regional stability.

The USD/CAD pair appreciates as the US Dollar (USD) rises, as traders expect multiple Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes later this year. This comes despite easing global inflation concerns, which have been helped by oil flows normalizing through the critical Strait of Hormuz.

The CME FedWatch tool shows financial markets are pricing in a 77.3% chance of interest rate hikes by year-end. Investors are now looking ahead to Wednesday's release of the Fed’s June policy Meeting Minutes to gain clearer insights into the future path of interest rates.