Investing.com - The U.S. dollar slipped lower against its Canadian counterpart on Tuesday, after the release of mixed U.S. economic reports and ahead of the Federal Reserve's monthly policy meeting, while better-than-expected Canadian data lent support to the local currency.
USD/CAD was down 0.17% at 1.2277, by 09:30 a.m. ET (13:30 GMT).
The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that the number of housing starts unexpectedly fell in August, while building permits unexpectedly jumped.
Separate reports showed that U.S. import prices posted their biggest gain in seven months in August, while the current account deficit widened more than expected in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the Fed was widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Thursday. However the U.S. central bank could give indications on when it plans to begin unwinding its balance sheet, as well as on any future interest rate decisions.
In Canada, official data on Tuesday showed that manufacturing sales dropped 2.6% in July, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.6%.
Manufacturing sales slid 1.9% in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 1.8% fall.
The commodity-related Canadian dollar also benefited from the recent upward trend in oil prices, helped by an overall positive outlook for global supply and demand.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD up 0.12% at 1.4717.