Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was little changed against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after the release of mixed Canadian data, as investors eyed an upcoming speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and renewed concerns over tensions in Ukraine lifted weighed on sentiment.
USD/CAD hit 1.0979 during European afternoon trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0946, easing up 0.06%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0890, the low of August 19 and resistance at 1.0986, Thursday's high and a more than three-month high.Official data showed that consumer price inflation in Canada fell 0.2% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% downtick, after a 0.1% rise in June.
Core CPI, which excludes the eight most volatile items, slipped 0.1% in July, confounding expectations for a flat reading, after a 0.1% dip the previous month.
A separate report showed that retail sales in Canada rose 1.1% in June, exceeding expectations for a 0.6% gain, after a 0.9% rise in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.7% increase.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, climbed 1.5% in June, more than the expected 0.4% rise, after a 0.3% gain in May whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.1% uptick.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported after a string of upbeat U.S. economic reports and the Fed's latest meeting minutes this week.
On Wednesday, the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting showed that some officials believe the strengthening recovery and ongoing improvement in the labor market supports a move towards tightening monetary policy.
Market participants were eyeing Ms. Yellen's comments at Jackson Hole later in the day for further indications on the central bank's next policy moves.
Separately, investors remained cautious after Ukraine declared on Friday that Russia had launched a "direct invasion" of its territory after Moscow sent a convoy of aid trucks across the border into eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian rebels are fighting government forces.
The loonie was steady against the euro, with EUR/CAD inching 0.02% higher to 1.4533.