USD/CAD climbs to 1.41 area as crude oil selloff continues

• WTI trades at fresh 21-year lows below $14 on Monday.
• US Dollar Index edges higher toward 100 handle.
• Coming up: February Wholesale Sales data from Canada.

The USD/CAD pair stayed relatively quiet above the 1.4000 handle during the Asian session but started gathering momentum in the last hour as the ongoing crude oil selloff made it difficult for the CAD to stay resilient against the USD. As of writing, the pair was up 0.73% on a daily basis at 1.4100.

Oil extends slide 

The barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) erased more than 20% last week as investors continued to price the dismal global energy demand outlook and world's oil storage inching closer to hitting its limit. With the selling pressure remaining unabated at the start of the new week, the WTI broke below the $14 handle to touch its lowest level since March 1999 at $13.25. At the moment, the WTI is down nearly 27% on the day at $13.40.

Meanwhile, the risk-averse market environment as reflected by losses witnessed in the major European equity indexes is helping the greenback find demand on Monday and allow the pair to stretch higher. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, is up 0.25% on the day at 99.97.

Later in the day, Wholesale Sales from Canada will be the only data featured in the North American economic docket and the pair is likely to continue to react to crude oil's market valuation.

Technical levels to watch for