Canadian Dollar Rises As Crude Oil Prices Spike

The Canadian dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as crude oil prices rose after data showed the crude inventories in the U.S. fell slightly more than expected last week.

Data from the Energy Information Administration showed that the U.S. crude inventories declined by 2.5 million barrels last week.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.60 at $82.17 a barrel.

Investors digest mixed economic data from the region and the U.S. Optimism about an interest rate cut by the U.S. Fed this year helped keep investor sentiment somewhat positive, but rising geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East weighed on the markets.

In the Asian trading today, the Canadian dollar rose to a 2-week high of 1.3674 against the U.S. dollar and nearly a 2-month high of 116.25 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.3687 and 116.06, respectively. The loonie is likely to find resistance around 1.35 against the greenback and 116.06 against the yen.

Against the euro and the Australian dollar, the loonie advanced to 1.4649 and 0.9110 from Thursday's closing quotes of 1.4645 and 0.9107, respectively. If the loonie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.45 against the euro and 0.90 against the aussie.

Looking ahead, flash PMI reports for June from various European economies and U.K. are due to be released in the European session.

In the New York session, Canada retail sales data for April, raw material prices for May, U.S. S&P Global flash manufacturing PMI for June, U.S. Consumer Board's leading index for May, U.S. existing homes sales for May and U.S. EIA baker Hughes oil rig count data are slated for release.