Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was trading close to a one-month low against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, as an improved outlook for the euro zone and a larger-than-forecast drop in U.S. jobless claims boosted risk appetite.
USD/CAD hit 1.0071 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s lowest since December 8; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0087, shedding 0.23%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0051, the low of December 8 and resistance at 1.0126, the session high.
Market sentiment firmed up earlier, after auctions of Spanish and French government debt met with solid investor demand and broadly lower yields.
Meanwhile, Investors remained optimistic that ongoing talks between Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the country’s creditors aimed at restructuring the country’s debt would result in a breakthrough.
In the U.S., official data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance last week declined unexpectedly, falling to the lowest level since April 2008.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending January 13 fell to 352,000 from 402,000 the previous week. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall to 385,000 last week.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in ten of the past twelve weeks.
A separate report showed that U.S. consumer price inflation was flat in December. Meanwhile, U.S. building permits remained unchanged close to a 22-month high last month, while housing starts rose less-than-expected.
The Canadian dollar also found support as the broadly weaker greenback weighed on crude oil prices, with crude oil for delivery in March up 0.76% on the day, to trade at USD101.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Raw materials, including oil account for about half of Canada’s export revenue.
The loonie was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/CAD dipping 0.03% to hit 1.3002.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.
USD/CAD hit 1.0071 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s lowest since December 8; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0087, shedding 0.23%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0051, the low of December 8 and resistance at 1.0126, the session high.
Market sentiment firmed up earlier, after auctions of Spanish and French government debt met with solid investor demand and broadly lower yields.
Meanwhile, Investors remained optimistic that ongoing talks between Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the country’s creditors aimed at restructuring the country’s debt would result in a breakthrough.
In the U.S., official data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance last week declined unexpectedly, falling to the lowest level since April 2008.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending January 13 fell to 352,000 from 402,000 the previous week. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall to 385,000 last week.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in ten of the past twelve weeks.
A separate report showed that U.S. consumer price inflation was flat in December. Meanwhile, U.S. building permits remained unchanged close to a 22-month high last month, while housing starts rose less-than-expected.
The Canadian dollar also found support as the broadly weaker greenback weighed on crude oil prices, with crude oil for delivery in March up 0.76% on the day, to trade at USD101.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Raw materials, including oil account for about half of Canada’s export revenue.
The loonie was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/CAD dipping 0.03% to hit 1.3002.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.