Investing.com - The U.S. dollar dropped against its Canadian counterpart on Tuesday, after tepid U.S. retail sales and producer prices data dampened optimism over the strength of the U.S. economy, sending the greenback broadly lower.
USD/CAD hit 1.2475 during early U.S. trade, the pair's lowest since April 8; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2482, retreating 0.92%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2383, the low of April 8 and resistance at 1.2647, Monday's high.
The greenback weakened after the U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales rose 0.9% last month, disappointing expectations for a gain of 1.0%. Retail sales fell by 0.5% in February, whose figure was revised from a previously reported fall of 0.6%.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose 0.4% in March, compared to forecasts for a 0.6% increase. Core sales in February dropped 0.1%.
In a separate report, the Commerce Department said that producer prices increased 0.2% last month, in line with forecasts and after falling 0.5% in February.
Year-over-year, the producer price index declined 0.8% in March, meeting expectations and following a drop of 0.6% in the preceding month.
The core producer price index eased up 0.2% last month, compared to forecasts for a gain of 0.1% and following a decline of 0.5% in February.
Demand for the U.S. dollar had been supported recently by expectations for higher interest rates, as investors regained confidence that the U.S. economy would continue to recover after recent economic reports pointed to a slowdown at the start of the year.
The loonie was steady against the euro, with EUR/CAD at 1.3315.