Investing.com - The U.S. dollar slipped lower against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, pulling away from three-week highs despite positive U.S. jobless data and after mixed retail sales reports from Canada.
USD/CAD hit 1.3159 during early U.S. trade, the pair's highest since October 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3112, down 0.18%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2964, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.3270, the high of October 2.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 17 increased by 3,000 to 259,000 from the previous week’s total of 256,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 9,000 to 265,000.
At the same time, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales rose 0.5% in August, beating expectations for a 0.1% uptick after a revised 0.6% increase the previous month.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, were flat last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% rise and after a 0.1% gain in August.
The loonie rallied against the euro, with EUR/CAD tumbling 1.70% to 1.4646 after European Central Bank President Draghi said the central bank will "reexamine" its monetary policy in December, hinting at the possibility for further easing measures.
Speaking at the ECB's monthly press conference, Mr. Draghi added that the ECB's quantitative easing program is set to run until 2016 or beyond if necessary.
Mr. Draghi also said that downside risks have emerged for growth and the inflation outlook in the euro area.
The comments came shortly after the ECB said it was maintaining its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.05%, in line with market expectations.