Canadian Dollar Slides Amid Falling Oil Prices

The Canadian dollar declined against its major rivals on Wednesday's European deals, as European stocks retreated, while oil prices fell ahead of official inventories data.

U.S. crude oil for May delivery was down $0.15 to $47.36 a barrel.

Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute said its data for last week showed a 4.8-million-barrel gain in crude-oil supplies. Rising inventories, coupled with weak demand growth are putting more pressure on oil prices.

Official data from the Energy Information Administration is due today.

The European markets were down, as investors remained cautious over Greek debt talks, with the country risks running out of cash by April 20.

The loonie pared gains to 95.57 against the Japanese yen and 1.2508 against the greenback, from early highs of 95.85 and 1.2479, respectively. The next possible support for the loonie is seen around 95.00 against the yen and 1.26 against the greenback.

The loonie reversed from an early high of 1.3634 against the euro and fell to a 1-week low of 1.3743. Continuation of the loonie's downtrend may lead it to a support around the 1.38 mark.

German business morale improved for the fifth straight month in March, survey by the Ifo institute showed.

The Ifo Business Climate index climbed to 107.9 in March from 106.8 in February. It was forecast to rise to 107.3.

The loonie, which advanced to 0.9825 against the aussie at 3:00 am ET, eased to 0.9856. If the loonie extends fall, it may find support around the 0.99 level.

The divergence between Australia's rising prices and falling rents in the property market has widened further, the Reserve Bank of Australia said in its Financial Stability Review report. Consequently, the risk of large repricing and associated market dislocation has increased.

"Commercial property prices have continued to rise at a national level, driven in particular by investors' search for yield in the global environment of low interest rates and ample liquidity, with the lower Australian dollar also likely to be adding some impetus to foreign demand," the central bank said.

Looking ahead, the Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Timothy Lane is due to speak at the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, in British Columbia, at 3:30 pm ET.