Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged higher against its Canadian counterpart on Wednesday, as lower oil prices dampened demand for the commodity-related Canadian currency, although U.S. political tensions continued to weigh on the greenback.
USD/CAD hit 1.2589 during early U.S. trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2574, adding 0.27%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2412, Tuesday’s low and a five-week low and resistance at 1.3016, Tuesday’s high.
The loonie came under pressure as oil prices fell back under the $50 a barrel threshold on Wednesday, following news of an unexpected increase in U.S. inventories and doubts over OPEC’s ability to curtail supply and rebalance the oversupplied global market.
In the U.S., payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by 178,000 last month, just below forecasts for an increase of 185,000. The economy created 191,000 jobs in June, upwardly revised from a previously reported increase of 158,000.
Investors were now looking ahead to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report for July for fresh indications on the possible direction of Fed policy.
The U.S. dollar remained under pressure after the White House on Tuesday confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump played a role in drafting a statement about his son’s meeting with a Russian lawyer during last year’s election campaign, which was later shown to be misleading.
The fresh revelations added to investors’ fears that the ongoing controversies embroiling the Trump administration will make it more difficult to make progress on the president’s economic agenda.
Recent lackluster U.S. economic reports, which have raised doubts over the future pace of policy tightening by the Federal Reserve, have also weighed on the greenback.
The loonie was also lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD gaining 0.50% to 1.4871.