Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged up to fresh six-year highs against its Canadian counterpart on Wednesday, as downbeat Canadian sales data weighed on the local currency and investors awaited the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy statement.
USD/CAD hit 1.2835 during early U.S. trade, the pair's highest since March 2009; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2809, adding 0.16%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2732, the low of March 16 and resistance at 1.3063.
Statistics Canada reported that wholesale sales dropped 3.1% in January, compared to expectations for a 1.0% decline. December's figure was revised to a 2.8% increase from a previously estimated 2.5% rise.
The report came a day after official data showed that Canada's manufacturing sales dropped 1.7% in January, confounding expectations for a 1.0% fall, after a 1.6% rise the previous month.
Meanwhile, market participants were eyeing the Fed's monthly policy statement due later Wednesday to see if it would drop its reference to being patient before raising rates and signal that it is ready to hike rates depending on economic data.
The loonie was also lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD rising 0.20% to 1.3578.