Investing.com - The U.S. dollar dropped against its Canadian counterpart on Wednesday, after the release of mixed U.S. economic reports and as investors remained cautious ahead of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.
USD/CAD hit 1.3783 during early U.S. trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3797, declining 0.47%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3704, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.3967, the high of February 12.
The Federal Reserve said that industrial production increased by 0.9% last month, beating expectations for a gain of 0.4%. Industrial production fell by 0.7% in December, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported fall of 0.4%.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said that housing starts fell 3.8% to hit 1.099 million units last month from December’s total of 1.143 million units. Analysts had expected a rise 2.5% to 1.170 million.
Meanwhile, the number of building permits issued declined 0.2% to 1.202 million units from 1.204 million. Economists had forecast a drop of 0.1% to 1.200 million units in January.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer prices inched up 0.1% last month, though the forecast was for a drop of 0.2% and after a 0.2% decline in December.
Year-over-year, the producer price index declined 0.2%, compared to expectations for a fall of 0.6%.
The core producer price index moved up by 0.4% in January, above forecasts for a gain of 0.1% and following a rise of 0.2% a month earlier.
Market participants were eyeing the minutes of the Fed’s February policy meeting due later in the day for hints on the timing of future interest rate hikes.
In Canada, data showed that foreign securities purchases declined by C$1.41 billion in December after a C$2.94 billion increase in November, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated C$2.58 billion gain.
Separately, the Canadian dollar found support as oil prices rebounded on Wednesday, amid discussions between OPEC members and Tehran to convince Iran to join an oil production freeze deal.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD dropping 0.53% to 1.5375.