Investing.com - The U.S. dollar pulled back from a six-week high and slipped lower against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, even after strong U.S. jobless claims data and news the U.S. government averted a shutdown.
USD/CAD edged down 0.11% to 1.2556 by 09:30 a.m. ET (13:30 GMT), off a six-week peak of 1.2597 hit earlier in the day.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, dropping to its lowest level in nearly 45 years.
The greenback initially strengthened after U.S. congressional leaders on Wednesday reached a two-year budget deal to raise government spending by almost $300 billion. The budget agreement averted the risk of a government shutdown or a debt default.
The dollar was also underpinned by higher U.S. bond yields, with the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes close to recent four-year highs on Thursday.
In Canada, data on Thursday showed that the new housing price index was flat in December, disappointing expectations for a 0.1% uptick and after a 0.1% rise the previous month.
Concerns over recent volatility on global stock markets persisted. Equities wordlwide plummeted on Friday after a strong U.S. jobs report sparked concerns over rising inflation.
Markets began to stabilize on Wednesday but traders were still cautious as high bond yields could cause them to plunge again.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD up 0.15% at 1.5427.