Investing.com - The U.S. dollar pared gains against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after the release of strong Canadian employment and housing reports, although demand for the greenback remained broadly supported.
USD/CAD pulled away from 1.2667, the pair's highest since April 1, to hit 1.2588 during early U.S. trade, still up 0.06%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2503, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.2711, the high of April 1.
The dollar remained supported after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said Wednesday that the timing of a rate hike depends on economic data and added that a rate hike in June could still be possible if the labor market recovery remained strong.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s minutes of the Fed’s March meeting showed that several officials believe the economic outlook is likely to warrant an interest rate hike in June.
The greenback was also boosted after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week rose less-than-expected.
Markets shrugged off data showing that the number of employed people in Canada rose by 28.700 last month, exceeding expectations for a decline of 100 and after a 1,000 drop in February.
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. February's figure was revised to a 151,200 increase from a previously estimated 156,300 gain.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD declining 0.40% to 1.3351.
In the euro zone, data earlier showed that French industrial production was flat in February, confounding expectations for a 0.1% downtick. January's figure was revised to a 0.3% rise from a previously estimated increase of 0.4%.
A separate report showed that Spain's industrial production increased at an annualized rate of 0.6% in February after a 0.1% gain in January, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.4% rise.