The Canadian dollar weakened against most major currencies in the early European session on Friday, as investors remain cautious on the back of weakness in the oil prices.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is currently down 0.43 percent or 26.12 points at 6,061, France’s CAC 40 index is down 0.49 percent or 22.64 points at 4,612 and Germany’s DAX is down 0.36 percent or 38.46 points at 10,560.
Crude oil for January delivery are currently down $0.10 to $36.66 a barrel.
U.S. crude futures held near 2009 lows in Asian deals after OPEC said its members pumped more oil in November than in any month since late 2008. The cartel also forecast little increase in demand for its crude next year.
With commodity weakness persisting and a Fed interest rate hike looming on the horizon, investors seem to be adopting a cautious stance, heading into the weekend.
Investors eagerly await the rate announcement from the Federal Reserve on December 16. A small rate hike next week is now a near certainty, but investors wait to see how the financial markets react to the long-awaited initial increase in the federal funds rate for the first time in nearly a decade.
In the Asian session today, the loonie held steady against its major rivals.
In the early European trading, the Canadian dollar fell to 1.3668 against the U.S. dollar for the first time since June 2004, from an early high of 1.3623. If the loonie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around the 1.39 area.
Against the euro, the loonie dropped to a 2-day low of 1.4992 against the euro, from an early high of 1.4904. The loonie may test support near the 1.52 region.
The loonie edged down to 89.15 against the yen, from an early high of 89.51. On the downside, 88.00 is seen as the next support level for the loonie.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar rose to 0.9872 against the Australian dollar, from an early low of 0.9924. The loonie is likely to find resistance around the 0.97 area.
Looking ahead, U.S.retail sales data and producer price index, both for November, U.S. business inventories for October, the University of Michigan’s preliminary U.S. consumer sentiment index for December and U.S. Baker Hughes rig count data are due to be released in the New York session.
At 10:35 am ET, Bank of England MPC member Martin Weale is expected to speak about pension reforms at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in London.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com