Investing.com - The U.S. dollar fell to almost two week lows against the Canadian dollar on Friday as rising oil prices and upbeat data on Canadian factory sales bolstered risk appetite.
USD/CAD was down 0.72% to 1.1286 in late trade, from 1.1364 on Thursday. The pair ended the week 0.37% lower.
Oil prices regained ground on Friday after falling below $80 a barrel in the previous session as forecast for cooler weekend weather in many parts of the U.S. boosted the demand outlook for heating oil, helping support the oil sensitive Canadian dollar.
The Canadian dollar received an additional boost after data showed that domestic manufacturing sales rose more strongly than expected in September.
Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales rose 2.1% to C$53 billion in September. Economists had forecast a 1.3% gain after a 3.5% drop in August.
The rebound was driven by higher sales in the transportation equipment the report said, including an increase in sales of autos and auto parts.
In the U.S., data on Friday showed that retail sales rose 0.3% in October, ahead of forecasts for a 0.2% increase.
Another report showed that the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose to a seven year high of 89.4 this month, better than forecasts of 87.5 and up from October’s reading of 86.9.
However, the report also showed that consumers expected annual inflation of 2.6% this year, down from expectations for inflation of 2.9% in October.
The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.25% to 87.61 in late trade, not far from the more than four-year highs of 88.36 hit earlier in the session.
In the week ahead, investors will be focusing on Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s October meeting and Thursday’s report on the U.S. consumer price index. Friday’s report on Canadian consumer prices will also be closely watched.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets.
Monday, November 17
Canada is to release data on foreign securities purchases.
The U.S. is to release a report on manufacturing activity in the New York region, as well as data on industrial production.
Tuesday, November 18
The U.S. is to release data on producer price inflation.
Wednesday, November 19
The U.S. is to release data on building permits and housing starts.
Later Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is to publish the minutes of its October meeting.
Thursday, November 20
Canada is to release data on wholesale sales.
The U.S. is to release data on initial jobless claims, consumer prices, existing homes sales and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.
Friday, November 21
Canada is to round up the week with data on consumer price inflation.