Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, after the release of positive U.S. jobless claims data and as fresh concerns over Greece's debt troubles weighed on risk sentiment.
USD/CAD hit 1.2553 during early U.S. trade, the pair's highest since February 12; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2540, gaining 0.70%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2375, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.2647, the high of February 12.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending February 14 decreased by 21,000 to 283,000 from the previous week’s total of 304,000.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall by 11,000 to 293,000 last week.
The dollar had weakened on Wednesday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting showed that policymakers expressed concern that raising interest rates too soon could dampen the U.S. economic recovery.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD climbing 0.53% to 1.4268.
Markets were jittery following reports that Germany rejected a proposed bailout extension request from Greece.
The Greek request included a pledge to maintain "fiscal balance" for a six-month period, in order to give it time to reach a new agreement on growth over the next four years with its partners in the euro zone, Reuters reported.
But German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said it was "not a substantial proposal for a solution" and did not meet the criteria agreed on at the euro group meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday.
The European Commission had earlier welcomed the bailout extension request, saying it could pave the way for compromise and stability in the euro zone.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.