The Canadian dollar extended its early strength against its major rivals in New York deals on Thursday, as oil prices rallied along with Chinese shares after Chinese authorities announced a raft of measures to curb free-fall in shares. Better-than-expected Canada new housing price index for May and housing starts for June also accelerated the currency’s rise.
Crude oil for August delivery rose $1.25 to $52.90 per barrel.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission on Wednesday banned investors that owned more than 5 percent of shares of listed companies from selling the shares for the next six months. China’s official news agency Xinhua reported that security regulators have ordered a probe into “vicious short-selling.”
China Securities Finance Corp., government backed fund, announced that it would provide sufficient liquidity to stabilise the market.
Sentiment lifted after the minutes from the Fed’s most recent meeting showed that the policy makers were in no hurry to raise interest rates.
Even if Greece exits the euro zone, the relatively robust U.S. economy should continue to grow through the year, bolstered by easy money from the Federal Reserve.
Data from Statistics Canada showed that Canada’s new housing price index rose 0.2 percent in May, following a 0.1 percent increase in April. Economists were expecting the index to remain unchanged from the previous month.
Canada’s seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts climbed 202,818 units in June, up from 196,981 units in May, according to a data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. The reading beat expectations for an increase of 190,000 units.
The currency was trading in a positive territory in the European session.
The loonie strengthened to a 2-day high of 1.2665 against the greenback, from an early low of 1.2745. The loonie is seen finding resistance around the 1.26 mark.
The loonie edged up to 95.85 against the yen, off its early multi-month low of 94.51. Continuation of uptrend may take the loonie to a resistance near the 96.4 area.
The loonie was trading firm at 0.9465 against the aussie, reversing from a 6-day low of 0.9515 hit at 2:45 am ET. On the upside, 0.94 is possibly seen as the next resistance level for the loonie.
The loonie reached as high as 1.3973 against the euro, after having fallen to 1.4118 at 2:00 am ET. If the loonie extends rally, 1.39 is likely seen as its next resistance level.
Data from Destatis showed that Germany’s exports logged an unexpected growth in May.
Exports rose 1.7 percent in May from prior month, confounding expectations for a 0.8 percent fall. It was the fastest growth rate seen so far this year. In April, exports had climbed 1.6 percent.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com