Investing.com - The U.S. dollar extended gains against the Canadian dollar on Tuesday, re-approaching recent four-year highs after data showed that U.S. retail sales rose more-than-forecast in December.
USD/CAD was up 0.52% to 1.0917 during early U.S. trade, not far from the highs of 1.0944 struck last Friday, the strongest level since October 2009.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0857, the session low and resistance at 1.0944.
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% last month, beating expectations for a 0.1% increase.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, climbed 0.7% in December, above forecasts for a 0.4% increase.
The data helped bolster expectations that the economic recovery will continue to deepen going into this year.
The Canadian dollar remained under heavy selling pressure after a recent series of weak economic data undermined the outlook for growth and reinforced expectations that the Bank of Canada will stick to its dovish stance on interest rates.
Elsewhere, the loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD rising 0.45% to 1.4917, nearing the three-year high of 1.4950 struck on Friday.