Investing.com - The U.S. dollar pared gains against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after the release of upbeat Canadian manufacturing sales data, while the Federal Reserve’s dovish stance this week continued to weigh on the greenback.
USD/CAD pulled back from 1.3346, the session high, to hit 1.3318 during early U.S. trade, steady for the day.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3274, Thursday’s low and a two-week trough and resistance at 1.3402, the high of March 2.
Statistics Canada reported on Friday that manufacturing sales rose 0.6% in January, exceeding expectations for a 0.2% fall.
Manufacturing sales increased by 2.1% in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 2.3% gain.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained under pressure after the Fed’s policy statement was seen as less hawkish than expected by sticking to projections of three total rate hikes in 2017 and not four as some traders had hoped for.
Also Friday, official data showed that U.S. industrial production was flat in February, compared to expectations for a 0.2% rise. Industrial production slipped 0.1% in January, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.3% decline.
Manufacturing production rose 0.5% last month, exceeding expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD shedding 0.24% to 1.4306.