The Canadian dollar edged lower for a third straight day against its US counterpart on Thursday, as investors weighed continued restrictions on trade through the Strait of Hormuz and data that showed resulting higher oil prices boosted domestic producer prices last month.
The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.3680 per U.S. dollar, or 73.10 US cents, after moving in a range of 1.3661 to 1.3689.
“Domestic news and developments remain limited and the intraday trend in the CAD continues to depend primarily on the broader dollar tone and the risk backdrop,” Shaun Osborne and Eric Theoret, strategists at Scotiabank, said in a note.
“We continue to look for limited USD gains and firm resistance in the low/mid-1.37 zone. Support remains (at) 1.3625 ahead of a drop back to the low 1.35s.”
The US dollar edged higher against a basket of major currencies as a stand-off between Iran and the US in the Middle East war and a lack of progress on peace talks sent oil prices higher and dented investor optimism.
The price of oil , one of Canada’s major exports, was trading 1.5% higher at $94.37 a barrel.
Canadian producer prices rose 2.4% in March from February on higher prices for energy and petroleum products, as well as chemical products, linked to the closure of the strait.
Higher sales in the petroleum and coal product sub-sector and the transportation equipment sub-sector helped lift factory sales by 3.5% in March from February, a preliminary estimate showed.
Retail sales data for February, due on Friday, could offer additional clues on the state of the domestic economy, ahead of a Bank of Canada interest rate decision next Wednesday.
Investors are betting that the central bank will leave its benchmark interest rate on hold at 2.25% but then hike once before