Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rallied over 1% against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, after data showed that U.S. jobless claims data rose less-than-expected last week and as the greenback continued to recover from Wednesday's broad selloff.
USD/CAD hit 1.2732 during early U.S. trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2715, jumping 1.21%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2474, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.2835, Wednesda's high and a six-year peak.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending March 14 increased by 1,000 to 91,000 from the previous week’s total of 290,000. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to rise by 2,000 to 292,000 last week.
A separate report showed that the U.S. current account deficit widened to $113.5 billion in the fourth quarter from $98.9 billion in the third quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of $100.3 billion.
Analysts had expected the current account deficit to widen to $103.2 billion in the last quarter.
Meanwhile, the dollar continued to regain some ground after weakening broadly on Wednesday when the Federal Reserve indicated that U.S. economic growth has moderated and that interest rates will rise at a slower pace than previously forecast.
In a statement following its monetary policy meeting, the U.S. central bank also downgraded its forecasts for growth and inflation.
The Fed dropped a reference to being "patient" on the timing of rate hikes, but added that the change in its forward guidance did not mean it has decided on the timing for an initial rate increase.
The Canadian dollar also remained under pressure after Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday that wholesale sales dropped 3.1% in January, compared to expectations for a 1.0% decline.
The report came a day after official data showed that Canada's manufacturing sales dropped 1.7% in January, confounding expectations for a 1.0% fall, after a 1.6% rise the previous month.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD retreating 0.58% to 1.3577.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.