Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was lower against its Canadian counterpart on Wednesday, as the greenback came under pressure ahead of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting later Wednesday, which could show whether the central bank is leaning toward more stimulus to boost growth.
USD/CAD hit 1.0172 during U.S. morning trade, the session’s low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0199, shedding 0.27%.
The pair was likely to find near-term support at 1.0164, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.0229, Tuesday’s high.
Market players were awaiting the release of the minutes from the Fed’s mid-June policy meeting, for hints of whether the central bank will engineer another round of asset purchases, or quantitative easing.
A fresh round of monetary easing could potentially hurt the dollar and support risk sensitive assets.
Data released earlier in the day showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to USD48.7 billion in May from deficit of USD50.6 billion in April, as exports inched up 0.2% and imports fell 0.7%.
Meanwhile, Canada’s trade deficit widened modestly to CAD0.8 billion in May from a deficit of CAD0.6 billion in April, as exports were relatively unchanged and imports increased 0.4%.
Elsewhere, the loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD dipping 0.24% to trade at 1.2498.
Sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable after Germany’s Constitutional Court delayed on Tuesday its decision on whether the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, is compatible with German law.
Without German backing, the ESM, which was originally meant to start on July 1, then delayed to July 9, cannot come into effect.
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced EUR65 billion of new austerity measures, in an effort to meet new budget-deficit targets agreed with euro zone partners.
Market analysts warned that the fresh austerity measures were likely to drag Spain’s economy deeper in to a recession.
USD/CAD hit 1.0172 during U.S. morning trade, the session’s low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0199, shedding 0.27%.
The pair was likely to find near-term support at 1.0164, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.0229, Tuesday’s high.
Market players were awaiting the release of the minutes from the Fed’s mid-June policy meeting, for hints of whether the central bank will engineer another round of asset purchases, or quantitative easing.
A fresh round of monetary easing could potentially hurt the dollar and support risk sensitive assets.
Data released earlier in the day showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to USD48.7 billion in May from deficit of USD50.6 billion in April, as exports inched up 0.2% and imports fell 0.7%.
Meanwhile, Canada’s trade deficit widened modestly to CAD0.8 billion in May from a deficit of CAD0.6 billion in April, as exports were relatively unchanged and imports increased 0.4%.
Elsewhere, the loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD dipping 0.24% to trade at 1.2498.
Sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable after Germany’s Constitutional Court delayed on Tuesday its decision on whether the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, is compatible with German law.
Without German backing, the ESM, which was originally meant to start on July 1, then delayed to July 9, cannot come into effect.
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced EUR65 billion of new austerity measures, in an effort to meet new budget-deficit targets agreed with euro zone partners.
Market analysts warned that the fresh austerity measures were likely to drag Spain’s economy deeper in to a recession.