Investing.com - The was lower against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, after downbeat U.S. jobless claims data and as the Federal Reserve’s decision leave its monetary policy unchanged continued to weigh on the greenback.
USD/CAD hit 1.3102 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s lowest since July 22; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3166, slipping 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3051, the low of July 22 and resistance at 1.3252, Wednesday’s high and a four-month peak.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 23 increased by 14,000 to 266,000 from the previous week’s total of 252,000, which was revised from the initial read of 253,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 7,000 to 260,000 last week.
The data came a day after the Fed left interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting, in a widely expected move.
In its monthly policy statement, the Fed said that “near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished” and that the labor market has “strengthened”.
The upbeat outlook fuelled speculation over a rate hike by the U.S. central bank before the end of the year.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD adding 0.19% to 1.4612.
The single currency strengthened after data earlier showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany declined by 7,000 in July, compared to expectations for a 3,000 drop and after a 6,000 slide the previous month.
Germany’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.1% this month, in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that Spain’s unemployment rate ticked down to 20.00% in the second quarter from 21.00% in the previous quarter, compared to expectations for a slip to 20.40%.