Investing.com - The U.S. dollar held steady against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, as market sentiment improved after the release of upbeat U.S. third quarter growth data, while the Federal Reserve's latest policy statement continued to lend support to the greenback.
USD/CAD hit 1.1165 during early U.S. trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.1181, easing 0.06%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.1118, Wednesday's low and a three-week low and resistance at 1.1254, the high of October 28.
Risk sentiment was boosted after the Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.5% in the three months to September, beating forecast for 3%.
A separate report showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose for a second week last week, but levels still pointed to a recovery in the labor market.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 287,000.
The greenback had strengthened broadly earlier, after the Fed said Wednesday that it is winding up its quantitative easing program, signalling that it was confident the U.S. economic recovery would continue.
The Fed said targets for inflation and a reduction in unemployment were on track, but added that interest rates would remain close to zero for a "considerable time".
The U.S. central bank said that although the jobs market is strengthening, there is still room for improvement, but not “significant improvement,” as it has said previously, in the labor market participation rate.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD shedding 0.29% to 1.4093.
Also Thursday, data showed that Spain’s economy grew in the third quarter and that another report the number of people unemployed in Germany declined unexpectedly this month.