USD/CAD advanced on positive series of US data

US dollar gained ground against its Canadian counterpart on Wednesday as well, boosted by a series of upbeat economic indicators out, released of the United States, while markets awaited the FOMC decision on policy.

USD/CAD reached a session high at 1.0334 at 12:30 GMT, the highest point since July 23rd, after which consolidation followed at 1.0310. Support was likely to be found at July 30th low, 1.0258, while resistance was to be encountered at July 19th high, 1.0393.

Earlier today the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the advance value of US Gross Domestic Product grew at a larger rate than projected during the second quarter of the year, at an annual rate of 1.7%, while experts had projected that economy will expand by 1.0%.

Another report said that the private sector in the United States added 200 000 new job positions in the month of July, surpassing preliminary estimates of 180 000 jobs, while June’s value of the ADP Employment Change indicator was revised up to an increase by 198 000 from 188 000 previously.

Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) in the worlds largest economy rose by 1.8% during the second quarter of this year, slowing down in comparison with the first three months, when the indicator grew by 2.3%, while preliminary estimates pointed an increase by 1.6%. Employment Cost Index (ECI) in the country also rose, at a moderate pace, by 0.5% during Q2 of the year compared to Q1, beating forecasts of a 0.4% increase.

Last but not least, it became clear that business activity in Chicago region advanced at a slower than projected pace in July. The PMI reached a value of 52.3, while expectations pointed an advance to 54.0. In June the indicator stood at 51.6. Values above 50.0 suggest that activity has developed.

In the mean time, Canadian economy expanded by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% to 1.58 trillion CAD in the month of May on a monthly basis, below estimates of a 0.3% rise, after a growth of 0.1% in April. On annual basis Canadian economy grew by 1.6% in May in line with projections.

Elsewhere, the loonie, as Canadian dollar is also known, traded higher against the euro, as EUR/CAD cross edged down 0.11% to 1.3652.