Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose against its Canadian counterpart on Wednesday, re-approaching a more than 11-year high as declining oil prices weighed on the Canadian currency, while Tuesday’s upbeat U.S. data still lent support to the greenback.
USD/CAD hit 1.3886 during early U.S. trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3912, gaining 0.50%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3792, the low of December 25 and resistance at 1.3940, Tuesday’s high.
The commodity-related Canadian dollar came under pressure as oil prices moved lower amid ongoing concerns over a global supply glut and the lack of demand.
Crude oil futures for February delivery were down 2.57% at $36.86 in European afternoon trade, re-approaching the 11-year low of $35.98 hit on December 22.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported after the Conference Board reported on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 96.5 in December from 92.6 in November, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 90.4.
Analysts had expected the index to rise to 93.8 this month.
Separately, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Anaysis said the goods trade deficit widened to $60.50 billion last month from $58.41 billion in October. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to $60.90 billion in November.
The data came after mixed U.S. economic reports released last week failed to offer clues as to how fast the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates next year.
With the first U.S. rate hike since 2006 out of the way, investors are now focusing on the pace of future rate increases.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD climbing 0.60% to 1.5207.