Investing.com - The U.S. dollar fell to session lows against the Canadian dollar on Thursday after unexpectedly strong Canadian trade data for March, but losses were limited after U.S. data showed that initial jobless claims fell to a five-year low last week.
USD/CAD hit 1.0059 during U.S. morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0069, slipping 0.12%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0050, Wednesday’s low and a more than two-month low and resistance at 1.0088, the session high.
Statistics Canada said that the trade deficit was flat in March, narrowing from a deficit of CAD1.2 billion in February. Analysts had expected a deficit of CAD0.7 billion.
In the U.S., the Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance last week fell by 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 324,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 3,000 to 345,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 342,000 from a previously reported increase of 339,000.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 11% to a seasonally adjusted USD38.8 billion in March from a deficit of USD43.6 billion in February, as imports fell sharply.
The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, was sharply higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD dropping 0.82% to 1.3180.
The euro weakened across the board after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi indicated that the bank could implement negative interest rates for commercial lenders.
The comments came at the bank’s post-policy meeting press conference.
Earlier Thursday, the ECB announced that it cut the benchmark interest rate to 0.5% from 0.75%, the first rate cut in 10 months.
USD/CAD hit 1.0059 during U.S. morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0069, slipping 0.12%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0050, Wednesday’s low and a more than two-month low and resistance at 1.0088, the session high.
Statistics Canada said that the trade deficit was flat in March, narrowing from a deficit of CAD1.2 billion in February. Analysts had expected a deficit of CAD0.7 billion.
In the U.S., the Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance last week fell by 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 324,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 3,000 to 345,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 342,000 from a previously reported increase of 339,000.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 11% to a seasonally adjusted USD38.8 billion in March from a deficit of USD43.6 billion in February, as imports fell sharply.
The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, was sharply higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD dropping 0.82% to 1.3180.
The euro weakened across the board after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi indicated that the bank could implement negative interest rates for commercial lenders.
The comments came at the bank’s post-policy meeting press conference.
Earlier Thursday, the ECB announced that it cut the benchmark interest rate to 0.5% from 0.75%, the first rate cut in 10 months.