Commodity Currencies Gain As Oil Prices Climb

Commodity currencies such as the Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars strengthened against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Thursday, as oil price rose on concerns about production cuts after a massive fire swept through the Canadian oil sands hub of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Crude oil for June delivery are currently up $0.83 to $44.61 a barrel.

Investors await U.S. reports on weekly jobless claims and building permits later in the day ahead of the Labor Department's more closely-watched monthly jobs report due on on Friday.

Meanwhile, Australian dollar strengthened after the nation's retail sales and trade figures for March beat estimates.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the retail sales in Australia were up a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent on month in March. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent following the upwardly revised 0.1 percent gain in February.

Separate data showed that Australia had a merchandise trade deficit of A$2.163 billion in March. That beat expectations for a shortfall of A$2.900 billion following the upwardly revised A$3.044 billion deficit in February. Exports were up 4.0 percent or A$1.084 billion to A$26.529 billion.

Wednesday, the Australian, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars fell against their major rivals. The Australian dollar fell 0.44 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.03 percent against the yen and 0.22 percent against the euro. The NZ dollar fell 0.53 percent against the U.S. dollar and 0.41 percent against the euro. The Canadian dollar fell 1.20 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.76 percent against the yen and 1.11 percent against the euro.

Meanwhile, the NZ dollar held steady against the yen.

In the Asian trading, the Australian dollar rose to a 2-day high of 0.9627 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 0.9588. The aussie may test resistance near the 0.99 region.

Against the euro and the yen, the aussie edged up to 1.5319 and 80.31 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.5395 and 79.71, respectively. If the aussie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.49 against the euro and 83.00 against the yen.

Against the U.S. and the New Zealand dollars, the aussie advanced to 0.7495 and 1.0875 from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.7451 and 1.0828, respectively. The aussie is likely to find resistance around 0.77 against the greenback and 1.12 against the kiwi.

The NZ dollar rose to 0.6905 against the U.S. dollar and 73.97 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.6876 and 73.55, respectively. If the kiwi extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.70 against the greenback and 76.00 against the yen.

Against the euro, the kiwi edged up to 1.6629 from yesterday's closing value of 1.6689. On the upside, 1.63 is seen as the next resistance level for the kiwi.

The Canadian dollar rose to 1.2825 against the U.S. dollar and 83.53 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.2867 and 83.11, respectively. If the loonie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.24 against the greenback and 87.00 against the yen.

Against the euro, the kiwi edged up to 1.4729 from yesterday's closing value of 1.4779. On the upside, 1.42 is seen as the next resistance level for the loonie.

Looking ahead, U.K. CIPS/ Markit services PMI for April is due to be released later in the day.

At 4:00 am ET, European Central Bank publishes its economic bulletin in Frankfurt.

In the New York session, Canada building permits for March and U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended April 30 are slated for release.

At 9:15 am ET, ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio speaks on "Re-Inventing the Role of Central Banks in Financial Stability", in Ottawa.

At 11:50 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is expected to speak on the U.S. economy and monetary policy, and is a part of a panel at the 35th Santa Barbara County Summit in Santa Barbara.

The equity markets in Japan is closed for Children's Day holiday and some parts of Europe is off for Ascension Day holiday.