Investing.com - The U.S. dollar softened against its Canadian cousin on Friday after firming inflation rates north of the border offset a cheery consumer sentiment report in the United States.
In U.S. trading, USD/CAD was down 0.13% at 1.1241, up from a session low of 1.1211 and off a high of 1.272.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.1077, the low from Oct. 9, and resistance at 1.1386, Wednesday's high.
The loonie firmed after Statistics Canada reported that the country's consumer price index rose 0.1% last month, beating expectations for a flat reading and up from a flat reading in August.
Core consumer price inflation, which excludes the eight most volatile items, increased by 0.2% in September, more than the expected 0.1% rise, after a 0.5% gain the previous month.
Canada's inflation report served as the pair's chief steering current, overshadowing upbeat consumer sentiment data out of the U.S.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to a seven-year high 86.4 for October from 84.6 in September. Analysts had expected the index to slip to 84.1 in October.
The Census Bureau reported earlier that U.S. building permits rose 1.5% to 1.018 million in September, disappointing expectations for an increase of 2.8% to 1.0.29 million units, after a 5.1% drop to 1.003 million units in August.
The report also showed that U.S. housing starts rose 6.3% in September to 1.017 million units, beating expectations for a 4.8% gain. Housing starts for August were revised to a 12.8% fall from a previously estimated 14.4% decline.
Elsewhere, the Canadian dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/CAD down 0.48% at 1.4348, and up against the pound, with GBP/CAD down 0.11% at 1.8092.