Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was at five-week highs against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, after the release of positive data from the U.S. and Canada and amid growing expectations for a March rate hike continued to lend support to the greenback.
USD/CAD hit 1.3385 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s highest since January 20; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3380, up 0.40%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3283, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.3388, the high of January 20.
Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that the country’s gross domestic product rose 0.3% in December, in line with expectations.
Canada’s economy grew 0.5% in November, up from previously estimated growth rate of 0.4%.
But the greenback was also supported after the U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims declined by 19,000 to 223,000 in the week ending February 25 from the previous week’s total of 242,000.
Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 1,000 to 243,000 last week.
The U.S. dollar was already boosted after a number of Federal Reserve officials this week expressed their support for a March rate hike.
The loonie was steady against the euro, with EUR/CAD at 1.4053.