Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was little changed against the Canadian dollar on Thursday after data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose more than expected, and a separate report showed that Canadian retail sales unexpectedly fell in March.
USD/CAD touched session highs of 1.0930 and was last at 1.0909, just 0.06% higher for the day.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0890 and resistance at 1.0940, Wednesday’s high.
The pair had a muted reaction after the Labor Department reported that the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits last week increased by 28,000 to 326,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 298,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 12,000 to 310,000.
The report came after Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s April meeting indicated that the bank continues to see a slow improvement in the economy, but reiterated that rates are likely to remain on hold at record lows for some time after its asset purchase program ends.
At the same time, Statistics Canada said retail sales fell 0.1% in March, disappointing forecasts for a 0.2% gain, after rising by 0.7% in the previous month.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose 0.1% in March, falling short of expectations for a 0.5% increase.
Elsewhere, the loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, was slightly higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD sliding 0.12% to 1.4916.
The euro found some support after data on Thursday indicated that the recovery in the euro zone’s private sector continued this month but expectations for easing by the European Central Bank continued to weigh.