Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was higher against its Canadian counterpart on Tuesday, despite the release of disappointing U.S. economic reports, as declining oil prices continued to weigh on the commodity-related Canadian currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.3400 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s highest since March 9; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3348, climbing 0.67%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3208, Monday’s low and resistance at 1.3446, the high of March 9.
The U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales fell 0.1% last month, better than expectations for a decline of 0.2%.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, declined by 0.1% in February, compared to forecasts for a fall of 0.2%.
A separate report showed that the U.S. producer price index fell 0.2% last month, in line with the forecasts. Year-over-year, producer prices were flat, compared to expectations for a 0.1% increase.
Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, was also flat in February, below forecasts for a gain of 0.1%.
At the same time, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index improved to 0.6 this month from a reading of -16.6 in February. Analysts had expected the index to rise to -10.0 in March.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar remained under pressure as oil prices pulled back from three-month highs on Monday after Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said his country won't join a group production freeze until it doubles its post-sanctions output.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD advancing 0.69% to 1.4822.