Investing.com - The U.S. dollar slipped lower against its Canadian counterpart on Tuesday, after the release of downbeat U.S. data, as a drop in oil prices weighed on demand for the commodity-related Canadian currency.
USD/CAD was down 0.10% at 1.2415 by 09:30 a.m. ET (13:30 GMT).
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported on Tuesday that its Empire State manufacturing index fell to 17.70 in January from 19.60 the previous month, confouding expectations for a decline to only 18.00.
The dollar has recently been pressured lower by concerns the global economic recovery will outpace U.S. growth and prompt other major central banks, led by the European Central Bank to begin unwinding loose monetary policy at a faster pace than expected.
Expectations that the ECB could soon start to scale back its monetary stimulus program received a boost on Monday after ECB Governing Council member Ardo Hansson said bond purchases could end in one step in September if the economy and inflation develop as expected.
But the Canadian dollar's gains were capped by a decline in oil prices on Tuesday, even though overall optimism over the rebalancing of the market continued to support the commodity.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD sliding 0.58% to 1.5156.