Investing.com - The U.S. dollar pushed higher against the Canadian dollar on Wednesday after data showing that U.S. inflation ticked modestly higher last month, as investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting later in the day.
USD/CAD was up 0.25% to 1.3090 from lows of 1.3023.
The Labor Department reported that the consumer price index ticked up just 0.1% in July, below forecasts for a 0.2% gain.
Underlying inflation, which excludes food and energy costs, also rose 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.2% increase.
The dollar has been boosted by expectations that the Fed start to raise interest rates in the coming months, possibly as soon as September, but monetary tightening is likely to remain gradual, given the subdued inflation outlook.
Investors were hoping that the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting would provide more clarity on its plans to hike short-term interest rates for the first time since 2006.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 97.03, little changed from around 96.94 ahead of the data.
The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, remained under pressure as U.S. oil prices held near six-year lows ahead of storage data later in the session amid concerns over the global supply glut and the subdued demand outlook.
Falling oil prices have put pressure on the Canadian economy, which is struggling to shake off the recessionary effects of low oil prices.