Canadian Dollar Edges Up Against Most Majors
During early European deals on Thursday, the Canadian dollar gained against its US, European and Japanese counterparts as oil prices steadied at above $77 a barrel today, pausing from the previous session’s decline of 2.6 percent, as investors waited for more economic data to gauge the pace of economic recovery in the United States.
The loonie thus recovered from an Asian session’s new multi-week low against the dollar and the yen.
Data this week from the U.S. has raised questions about a sustained recovery, with consumer confidence dipping to recessionary levels and new home sales falling unexpectedly.
Concerns over the fragile health of the U.S. economy and weakness in energy demand have prompted oil prices to fall about 6 percent over five out of six trading sessions, since striking a one-year high of $82 on October 21.
U.S. crude for December delivery slipped 6 cents to $77.40 a barrel at 4:05 a.m. ET, after settling down $2.09 at $77.46 on Wednesday on government data that showed a surprise build in U.S. gasoline inventories last week.
London Brent crude edged up 5 cents to $75.91.
Against the US dollar, the Canadian currency traded higher during early deals on Thursday. At 4:20 am ET, the loonie reached a high of 1.0749 against the dollar moving from an early Asian session’s new multi-week low of 1.0823. The dollar-loonie pair closed Wednesday’s North American session at 1.0813. The next upside target level for the Canadian currency is seen around 1.064.
The Canadian dollar gained ground after hitting a 2-day low of 1.5915 against the European currency during Thursday’s early Asian deals. At 4:20 am ET, the loonie climbed to 1.5840 against the euro with 1.571 seen as the next target level. The euro-loonie pair closed Wednesday’s New York deals at 1.5900.
Germany’s Federal Statistical Office announced today that the ILO unemployment rate stood at a seasonally adjusted 7.6% in September, down from 7.7% in August. A year ago, the jobless rate was 7.1%.
The loonie that hit a 3-week low of 83.61 against the Japanese yen during today’s early Asian deals strengthened thereafter. At 4:20 am ET, the loonie-yen pair rose to 84.43, compared to 83.98 hit late New York Wednesday. If the pair gains further, 85.6 is seen as the next target level.
In economic news, industrial output in Japan was up 1.4 percent on month in September, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said today, posting an index score of 85.1.
The reading marked the seventh straight month of gain and also came in above expectations for a 1.0 percent increase following the 1.6 gain in August.
On an annual basis, output was down 18.9 percent compared to forecasts for a 19.3 percent decline after the 19.0 percent contraction in the previous month.
Also, an index measuring corporate service prices in Japan was down 3.2 percent on year in September, the Bank of Japan said, posting a score of 98.0. That was marginally better than forecasts for a 3.4 percent annual decline after the 3.5 percent fall on year in August.
On month, corporate service prices eased 0.2 percent. For the third quarter, prices were down 3.4 percent on year and 0.4 percent on quarter.
The Canadian dollar edged down against the Australian currency during Thursday’s early deals. At 4:50 am ET, the loonie touched a low of 0.9738 against the aussie, compared to Wednesday’s closing value of 0.9703. On the downside, 0.980 is seen as the next target level for the loonie.
New home sales in Australia declined in number by 4.5 percent in September compared to august, according to survey results released today by the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
The report said the number of sales of stand-alone houses fell 4.3 percent for the month, but were up 4.0 percent for the three months to September.
Across the Atlantic, the Bureau of Economic Analysis is due to release its advance third quarter GDP report at 8:30 AM ET. The report is likely to show that the U.S. economy contracted at a 3.2% rate in the quarter.
At the same time, the Labor Department is due to release its customary weekly jobless claims report for the week ended October 24th. Economists expect claims to have declined to 525,000 in the recent reporting week.
