Investing.com - The U.S. dollar dropped against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, as the release of downbeat U.S. retail sales data dampened optimism over the strength of the economy as well as expectations for a U.S. rate hike before the end of the year.
USD/CAD hit 1.2927 during early U.S. trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2944, declining 0.38%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2936, the low of July 19 and resistance at 1.3080, Thursday’s high.
The U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales were flat in July, compared to the forecast for a rise of 0.4%. June retail sales increased 0.8%, whose figure was revised from an initial 0.6% gain.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell by 0.3% in July, compared to forecasts for an advance of 0.2%. Core sales in June gained 0.9%, upwardly revised from an initial 0.7% gain.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer prices fell by 0.4% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.1% rise and after a 0.5% gain in June.
Year-over-year, the producer price index decreased by 0.2%, compared to expectations for a gain of 0.2%.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD adding 0.19% to 1.4499.
The euro found support after Eurostat said that euro zone gross domestic product rose 0.3% in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter and in line with consensus forecasts.
Year-on-year, GDP in the single currency bloc rose 1.6% in the second quarter.
A separate report showed that euro zone industrial production rose 0.6% in June, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain and after a 1.2% decline the previous month.