Investing.com - The U.S. dollar gained ground against its Canadian counterpart on Monday, as expectations for a near-term U.S. rate hike lent broad support to the greenback, while declining oil prices dampened demand for the commodity-related Canadian currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.3095 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s highest since May 25; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3062, gaining 0.32%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2906, the low of May 26 and resistance at 1.3135, the high of May 25.
The greenback strengthened broadly after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday it would be appropriate for the central bank to raise rates “gradually and cautiously” in the coming months if the economy and the labor market continue to pick up as expected.
The U.S. dollar was also boosted after the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Friday that gross domestic product rose at an annualized rate of 0.8% in the three months to March, up from the initial estimate of 0.5%.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar weakened as oil prices turned lower on Monday amid expectations for an increase in Canadian oil sands production this week.
Also Monday, Statistics Canada said the country’s current account deficit widened as expected to C$16.8 billion in the first quarter from C$15.7 billion in the last quarter of 2015, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of C$15.4 billion.
A separate report showed that Canada’s raw materials price index rose 0.7% in April, disappointing expectations for an increase of 2.2% and after a 4.5% gain the previous month.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD advancing 0.64% to 1.4558.