On Friday the U.S. dollar declined against its Canadian peer, as positive Canadian manufacturing sales supported the local
currency, while Thursday's disappointing U.S. data continued to weigh
on the greenback.
On Friday Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales rose 1.7% in December, beating expectations for a 0.9% fall. November's data were revised to a 1.3% decline from a previously estimated 1.4% drop.
USD/CAD hit 1.2465 during early U.S. trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2482, shedding 0.20%. Cable was likely to find support at 1.2389, the low of February 5 and resistance at 1.2647, Thursday's high.
In the meantime, sentiment on the US dollar remained fragile after the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending February 7 increased by 25,000 to 304,000, compared to expectations for a 6,000 rise to 285,000.
Data also showed that U.S. retail sales declined by 0.8% last month, worse than expectations for a drop of 0.5%, while core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, slid 0.9% in December.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD sliding 0.28% to 1.4223.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce preliminary data on consumer sentiment.
