Forex - USD/CAD higher as euro zone fears boost safe haven demand

Published 05/17/2012, 09:24 AM
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Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose to a four-month high against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, as demand for the safe haven greenback remained supported amid concerns over the crisis in the euro zone.

USD/CAD hit 1.0157 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s highest since January 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0136, gaining 0.16%.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.0103, the session low and resistance at 1.0177, the high of January 18.

Concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone escalated earlier, amid speculation that rating’s agency Moody’s was preparing to announce widespread downgrades on Spain’s troubled banking sector later in the session.

Earlier Thursday, Spain successfully auctioned EUR2.5 billion of government bonds, but the country’s borrowing costs rose sharply, pressured higher by worries over the health of the country’s banking sector.

Meanwhile, fears over the implications of a Greek exit from the euro zone continued as the country prepared for fresh elections next month, which could see anti-austerity parties take power.

The Canadian dollar was little changed after official data showed that Canadian wholesale sales rose 0.4% in March, broadly in line with expectations, led higher by increased output in the domestic auto sector.

In the U.S., government data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance last week held steady at a seasonally adjusted 370,000, confounding expectations for an decline of 5,000 to 365,000.

The previous week’s figure was revised up to 370,000 from 368,000.

The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD gaining 0.15% to hit 1.2889.

Later Thursday, the U.S. was to produce a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.


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