Forexpros - The U.S. dollar firmed against its Canadian counterpart on Friday after manufacturing sales disappointed in Canada, though mixed housing and sentiment data in the U.S. capped the greenback's gains.
In U.S. trading on Friday, USD/CAD hit 1.0326, up 0.18%, up from a low of 1.0294 and off a high of 1.0360.
The pair sought to test support at 1.0281, Monday's low, and resistance at 1.0370, Wednesday's high.
Canadian manufacturing sales contracted 0.5% in June, according to official data, defying expectations for a 1.0% increase. Manufacturing sales for May were revised down to a 0.6% rise from a previously estimated 0.7% increase.
The numbers sent the greenback rising against the loonie though spotty U.S. data capped the dollar's advance.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that U.S. building permits rose 2.7% to 943,000 units in July, just shy of expectations for a 2.9% increase to 945,000 units although June's figure was revised up to 918,000 units from 911,000.
The government added that housing starts rose 5.9% to 896,000 units in July, missing expectations for a 8.3% increase to 900,000 units. Still, June's figure was revised up to 846,000 units from 836,000.
Elsewhere, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 80.0 in August from 85.1 in July. Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 85.5 this month.
Not all U.S. data missed expectations.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a preliminary report that nonfarm productivity rose 0.9% in the second quarter, beating expectations for a 0.6% gain after a 1.7% decline in the previous quarter.
Investors viewed the data as disappointing in some areas though overall strong enough to keep the Federal Reserve on course to begin tapering its USD85 billion in bond purchases this year.
Asset purchases tend to weaken the dollar to spur recovery, though talk of their dismantling can strengthen the greenback.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, was down against the euro and down against the yen, with EUR/CAD up 0.10% and trading at 1.3772 and CAD/JPY down 0.03% at 94.44.
In U.S. trading on Friday, USD/CAD hit 1.0326, up 0.18%, up from a low of 1.0294 and off a high of 1.0360.
The pair sought to test support at 1.0281, Monday's low, and resistance at 1.0370, Wednesday's high.
Canadian manufacturing sales contracted 0.5% in June, according to official data, defying expectations for a 1.0% increase. Manufacturing sales for May were revised down to a 0.6% rise from a previously estimated 0.7% increase.
The numbers sent the greenback rising against the loonie though spotty U.S. data capped the dollar's advance.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that U.S. building permits rose 2.7% to 943,000 units in July, just shy of expectations for a 2.9% increase to 945,000 units although June's figure was revised up to 918,000 units from 911,000.
The government added that housing starts rose 5.9% to 896,000 units in July, missing expectations for a 8.3% increase to 900,000 units. Still, June's figure was revised up to 846,000 units from 836,000.
Elsewhere, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 80.0 in August from 85.1 in July. Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 85.5 this month.
Not all U.S. data missed expectations.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a preliminary report that nonfarm productivity rose 0.9% in the second quarter, beating expectations for a 0.6% gain after a 1.7% decline in the previous quarter.
Investors viewed the data as disappointing in some areas though overall strong enough to keep the Federal Reserve on course to begin tapering its USD85 billion in bond purchases this year.
Asset purchases tend to weaken the dollar to spur recovery, though talk of their dismantling can strengthen the greenback.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, was down against the euro and down against the yen, with EUR/CAD up 0.10% and trading at 1.3772 and CAD/JPY down 0.03% at 94.44.