Investing.com - The U.S. dollar slid lower against its Canadian counterpart on Monday, as rising oil prices lent support to the commodity-related Canadian currency, although sustained optimism over the U.S. economy limited the greenback’s losses.
USD/CAD hit 1.3409 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s lowest since November 17; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3416, declining 0.65%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3396, the low of November 17 and resistance at 1.3514.
The Canadian dollar found support as oil prices rallied on Monday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he sees a “high probability” that an agreement to curb oil production will be reached at a meeting later this month.
Markets shrugged off a report by Statistics Canada showing that wholesale sales dropped 1.2% in September, compared to expectations for a 0.4% rise and after an increase of 0.8% the previous month.
But the greenback was still strong amid expectations that President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to ramp up fiscal spending and cut taxes will spur economic growth and inflation.
Faster growth would spark inflation, which in turn would prompt the Fed to tighten monetary policy a faster rate than had previously been expected.
The U.S. dollar has also been boosted by bets that the U.S. central bank will almost certainly raise interest rates next month.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday reiterated that a rate hike “could well become appropriate relatively soon.”
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD sliding 0.38% to 1.4248.