Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged higher against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, hovering close to a two-month peak as expectations for a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve continued to support the greenback.
Trading volumes were expected to remain thin with U.S. markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
USD/CAD hit 1.3324 during early U.S. trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3307, adding 0.14%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3242, the low of November 19 and resistance at 1.3437, the high of November 23 and a two-month high.
The greenback remained broadly supported after a string of upbeat U.S. data on Wednesday added to expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that new home sales rose by 10.7% to 495,000 units last month, compared to expectations for a gain of 6.0% to 500,000.
The report came shortly after the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending November 21 declined by 12,000 to 260,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 272,000.
Data also showed that U.S. durable goods orders jumped by 3.0% last month, easily surpassing forecasts for 1.5%, while core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, rose 0.5% in October, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.3%.
The loonie was little changed against the euro, with EUR/CAD at 1.4128.