Investing.com - The U.S. dollar fell to fresh one-week lows against its Canadian counterpart on Wednesday, as higher oil prices and positive Canadian retail sales data lent support to the local currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.2761 during early U.S. trade, the pair’ lowest since June 13; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2776, sliding 0.30%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2655, the low of June 10 and resistance at 1.2892, Monday’s high.
Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday that retail sales rose 0.9% in April, in line with expectations. Retail sales fell 0.8% in March, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 1.0% decline.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, increased by 1.3% in April, beating expectations for an uptick of 0.6%. Core retail sales slipped 0.1% in March, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.3% fall.
The commodity-related Canadian dollar also strengthened as oil prices regained some ground after the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday that U.S. stocks fell more than expected last week.
But investors remained cautious as recent polls showed that the race between the Leave and Remain campaigns is still tight one day before the vote on a potential British exit from the European Union, or Brexit.
The Survation poll showed that 45% of voters supported the campaign to remain in the EU, with 44% supporting Brexit, as a vote to leave is known. 11% were undecided.
This compared to the 45% voting for remain and 42% voting to leave in an earlier survey.
Two opinion polls released on Monday indicated that support for the Remain camp had regained its lead after falling behind last week.
The greenback erased gains posted on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that gradual interest rates hikes were likely to be needed, during her testimony to Congress.
She added that the Fed is “closely monitoring global economic and financial developments” and taking a cautious approach to raising interest rates.
Yellen also warned that a vote by Britain to exit the EU could have significant economic repercussions.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD up 0.23% at 1.4455.