Investing.com - The U.S. moved higher against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, after the release of positive economic reports from both the U.S. and Canada and as rising oil prices failed to boost the commodity-related Canadian currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.3221 during early U.S. trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3207, up 0.23%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3106, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.3271, the high of September 28.
The dollar was boosted after the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 1 decreased by 5,000 to 249,000 from the previous week’s total of 254,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 3,000 to 257,000 last week.
Market participants were focusing on Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for further indications on the strength of the job market, as the Federal Reserve has indicated that future interest rate decisions will be data-dependent.
Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reported that building permits increased by 10.4% in August, beating expectations for a 3.0% rise.
Building permits rose 3.4% in July, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.8% uptick.
The Canadian dollar shrugged off rising oil prices on Thursday, amid reports OPEC could reduce oil production even more at its November meeting.
The loonie was steady against the euro, with EUR/CAD at 1.4762.