Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was little changed against the Canadian dollar on Thursday after data showed that U.S. retail sales fell unexpectedly in December and another report showed that initial jobless claims rose last week.
USD/CAD hit session highs of 1.1026 and was last up 0.09% to 1.1011.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0975, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.1060.
U.S. retail sales fell 0.4% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.3% increase the Commerce Department said. December’s figure was revised down to a decline of 0.1% from a previously reported 0.2% increase.
Core retail sales were flat in January, compared to expectations for a 0.1% rise.
Meanwhile, the Department of Labor reported that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose by 8,000 to 339,000 from the previous week’s total of 331,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall by 1,000.
In Canada, official data on Thursday showed that the new house price index ticked up 0.1% in December, compared to forecasts for a 0.2% gain, following a flat reading in November.
Elsewhere, the loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, was weaker against the euro, with EUR/CAD advancing 0.67% to 1.5055.
The common currency rebounded after weakening broadly in the previous session after European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said in an interview with Reuters that the bank is considering negative deposit rates very seriously.
The remarks sparked concerns that the bank could cut rates next month, in order to safeguard the fragile recovery in the euro area.