Investing.com - The Canadian dollar was lower against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday after trade data showing that while the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in February Canada swung to an unexpected trade deficit.
USD/CAD touched highs of 1.3456, the most since March 15 and was last at 1.3435, up 0.4% for the day.
The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit shrank by 9.6% to $43.6 billion, while January's trade deficit was revised down to $48.2 billion from $48.5 billion.
Economists had forecast the trade gap contracting to $44.8 billion in February.
U.S. exports rose 0.2% to $192.9 billion in February, the highest level since December 2014. Imports fell by 1.8% to $236.4 billion.
The data came as investors remained on edge amid heightened uncertainty about U.S.-China trade ahead of an upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.
Market sentiment has been hit by growing doubts over whether the Trump administration's economic proposals would boost the U.S. economy and allow the Federal Reserve to tighten policy more aggressively.
The loonie came under pressure after data from Statistics Canada showed that a drop in exports saw Canada swing into an unexpected trade deficit in February.
Canada posted a trade deficit of C$972 million, falling short of economists' expectations for a surplus of C$500 million.
Exports fell 2.4%, the biggest decrease since March 2016, while imports rose 0.6% Statistics Canada said.