Canadian Dollar Weakens On Falling Oil Prices

The Canadian dollar fell against its most major counterparts in the Asian session on Thursday, as an unexpected build in U.S. crude inventories and the continued surge in coronavirus cases in some parts of the world pushed down oil prices.

Crude for June delivery fell $0.23 to $65.09 per barrel.

Data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories rose by 594,000 barrels in the week to April 16 to 493 million barrels.

Analysts had expected inventories to drop by about 3 million barrels.

India recorded 314,835 new infections and 2,104 deaths on Thursday, forcing authorities in the worst affected state of Maharashtra to impose additional restrictions.

The Japanese government is considering to issue a third state of emergency in Tokyo and three western prefectures for about two weeks.

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, are preparing for a largely technical meeting next week, at which the group may stick with the current strategy.

The loonie fell to 86.26 against the yen and 1.2513 against the greenback, from yesterday's closing values of 86.44 and 1.2495, respectively. The loonie may challenge support around 84.00 against the yen and 1.26 against the greenback.

The loonie edged down to 1.5057 against the euro from Wednesday's close of 1.5037. On the downside, 1.52 is possibly seen as its next support level.

In contrast, the loonie was up against the aussie, at 0.9682. The loonie may test resistance around the 0.95 region.

Looking ahead, the European Central Bank will announce interest rate decision at 7:45 am ET. The ECB is expected to hold its main refi rate at a record low zero percent and the deposit rate at -0.50 percent.

In the New York session, Canada new housing price index for March, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended April 17 and existing home sales for March are scheduled for release.

Eurozone flash consumer sentiment index for April is set for release at 10:00 am ET.