Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was higher against its Canadian counterpart on Monday, as growing expectations for a U.S. rate hike by the middyear continued to lend broad support to the greenback.
USD/CAD hit 1.2646 during early U.S. trade, the pair's highest since April 10; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2595, gaining 0.24%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2503, the low of April 9 and resistance at 1.2711, the high of April 1.
Demand for the dollar remained supported by expectations for higher interest rates, as investors regained confidence that the U.S. economy would continue to recover after recent economic reports pointed to a slowdown at the start of the year.
The Canadian dollar had found some support after data on Friday showed that the number of employed people in Canada rose by 28.700 last month, exceeding expectations for a decline of 100.
The report also showed that Canada's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.8% in March, in line with expectations.
Another report showed that Canadian housing starts rose by 189,700 units last month, beating expectations for an increase of 175,000.
The loonie was steady against the euro, with EUR/CAD at 1.3327.
Sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable amid ongoing uncertainty over Greece’s bailout. Talks between Athens and its lenders on proposed economic reforms were expected to resume later Monday, ahead of a meeting of euro area finance ministers on April 24.