Investing.com - The U.S. dollar fell to three-week lows against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, despite the release of tepid Canadian data as climbing oil prices supported the commodity-related currency and as U.S. political turmoil continued to pressure the greenback lower.
USD/CAD hit 1.3554 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s lowest since April 27; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3586, slipping 0.11%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3528, the low of April 27 and resistance at 1.3671, Thursday’s high.
Statistics Canada reported that the consumer price index rose 0.4% in April, in line with market expectations. Year-on-year, consumer prices increased by 1.6% last month, disappointing expectations for a 1.7% gain.
Data also showed that Canada’s retail sales increased by 0.7% in March, beating expectations for a 0.4% gain and after a revised 0.4% fall the previous month.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, slipped 0.2% in March, compared to expectations for a 0.2% rise.
But the Canadian dollar was supported by a sharp rally in oil prices on Friday, amid hopes major oil producers will decide to extend their current supply cut plan.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained under broad selling pressure following reports this week that U.S. President Donald Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to end the agency's investigation into ties between former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed on Wednesday by the Justice Department as a special counsel to take over the probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD climbing 0.66% to 1.5202.