Canadian Dollar Weakens Amid Risk Aversion, Falling Oil Prices

The Canadian dollar declined against its most major rivals in the Asian session on Friday, with rising global bond yields amid indications of a hawkish shift by the European Central Bank sapping investor appetite for riskier assets.

The minutes from the European Central Bank's June meeting showed that policymakers considered dropping their pledge to expand or extend the bond-buying program. This came on the heels of a speech by the ECB chief Mario Draghi last week, when he sounded optimistic on future inflationary movements.

Yesterday's weaker-than-expected ADP private payrolls data suggested a possible slowdown in labor market activity ahead of non-farm payrolls due 8:30 a.m. ET Friday.

U.S. private sector employers added 158,000 jobs last month, lower than the 230,000 positions created in May and below expectations for a gain of 185,000, according to the report from payroll processor ADP.

The escalating tensions surrounding North Korea's test launch this week of an intercontinental ballistic missile also continues to be a point of concern. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said in Warsaw that he's considering some pretty severe things in response to North Korea's efforts to develop nuclear weapons aimed at the U.S.

The loonie was also undermined by falling oil prices, as a data from the Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. oil production rose to 9.34 million barrels per day last week.

Crude for August delivery fell $0.55 to $44.97 per barrel.

The loonie was lower against its major rivals, except the aussie on Friday.

The loonie dropped to 1.4835 against the euro, its lowest since June 30. Continuation of the loonie's downtrend may see it challenging support around the 1.50 region.

Data from Destatis showed that German industrial production grew at the fastest pace in four months in May.

Industrial production grew 1.2 percent month-on-month in May, faster than the 0.4 percent increase seen in April and exceeded economists' forecast of 0.2 percent.

The loonie edged down to 0.9864 against the aussie, compared to Thursday's closing value of 0.9843. If the loonie's downtrend, 1.00 is likely seen as its next support level.

The loonie weakened to a 2-day low of 1.2994 against the greenback and held steady thereafter. The next possible support for the loonie is seen around the 1.31 area.

On the flip side, the loonie rose to 87.67 against the yen, off its early low of 87.13. The loonie is seen finding resistance around the 89.00 level.

Preliminary data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's leading index strengthened in May, while coincident index fell from April.

The leading index that measures the future economic activity, rose to 104.7 in May from 104.2 in April. The score was forecast to rise to 104.6.

Looking ahead, U.K. industrial production and trade data for May are set for release in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. and Canada jobs data as well as Ivey PMI - all for June will be out.