Investing.com - The U.S. dollar slipped lower against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after the release of downbeat U.S. housing sector data dented recent optimism over the strength of the economy.
USD/CAD hit 1.3222 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s lowest since Wednesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3245, shedding 0.20%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3163, the low of June 14 and a more than three-month trough and resistance at 1.3310, Thursday’s high.
The U.S. Commerce Department said housing starts decreased by 5.5% in May to hit 1.092 million units from April’s revised total of 1.156 million units. Analysts had expected a 4.1% rise to 1.215 million last month.
Meanwhile, building permits declined by 4.9% to 1.168 million units in May from 1.228 million the month before. Economists had forecast a 1.8% increase to 1.250 million units last month.
The greenback had strengthened broadly after the release on Thursday of encouraging data on U.S. initial jobless claims, as well as on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia and New York areas.
The dollar was also boosted after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates from 1.00% to 1.25% at the end of its policy meeting on Wednesday.
In Canada, official data on Friday showed that foreign securities purchases increased by C$10.60 billion in April, disappointing expectations for a rise of C$12.14 billion.
Foreign securities purchases rose by C$15.05 billion in March, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of C$15.13 billion.
The loonie was steady against the euro, with EUR/CAD at 1.4793.