Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, boosted by data showing that U.S. jobless claims rose less than expected last week, although and upbeat building permits report from Canada also lent support to the local currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.2096 during early U.S. trade, the pair's highest since May 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2095, gaining 0.42%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.1937, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.2204, the high of May 1.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 2 rose by 3,000 to 265,000 from the previous week's total of 262,000.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to rise by 18,000 to 280,000 last week.
The data eased concerns over the strength of the U.S. job market after payroll processing firm ADP said on Wednesday that U.S. non-farm private employment rose by 169,000 last month, below expectations for an increase of 200,000.
Investors were now looking ahead to Friday's employment report for further indications on the health of the U.S. job market.
Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reported that building permits increased by 11.6% in March, beating expectations for a 2.5% rise. The change in building permits in February was revised to a 0.3% slip from a previously estimated 0.9% fall.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD slipping 0.19% to 1.3644.