Investing.com - The U.S. dollar extended losses against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, as rising oil prices and the release of strong Canadian economic reports sent the local currency broadly higher.
USD/CAD hit 1.2997 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s lowest since April 1; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3017, retreating 0.99%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3012, the low of March 31 and a five-month low and resistance at 1.3180, Thursday’s high.
Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the number of employed people increased by 40,600 in March, blowing past expectations for a 10,000 rise and following a 2,300 decline the previous month.
The report also showed that Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 7.1% last month from 7.3% in February, confounding expectations for an unchanged reading.
Another report showed that Canada’s housing starts increased by 204,300 in March, compared to expectations for a rise of 190,000. Housing starts climbed by 219,100 in February, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 212,600 gain.
The commodity-related Canadian dollar was also boosted as oil prices rallied on Friday, although global supply concerns continued to loom.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained under pressure after the minutes from the Fed's March policy meeting on Wednesday indicated that the central bank is unlikely to raise interest rates before June due to concerns over global economic growth.
The loonie was sharply higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD tumbled 0.92% to 1.4821.
Sentiment on the single currency remained vulnerable after senior European Central Bank officials reiterated on Thursday that they are prepared to inject more stimulus if necessary.