Loonie Firms As Canada's Manufacturing Sales Hit Record High

09:37, 16th September 2014

(RTTNews) - The Canadian dollar drifted up against its key counterparts on Tuesday, as Canada's manufacturing sales climbed to a record high in July, mainly driven by higher sales in the transportation equipment and primary metal industries.

Data from Statistics Canada showed that Canadian manufacturing sales increased 2.5 percent to C$53.7 billion in July, exceeding the previous record of C$53.2 billion set in July 2008. Economists were calling for an increase of 1.1 percent on month, following an upwardly revised 0.9 percent gain in June.

Manufacturing sales have trended upwards since January 2014, it noted.

Investors keenly await a speech by the Bank of Canada's Governor, Stephen Poloz, scheduled at 12:30 pm ET. Poloz will speak on the topic " the role of the exchange rate in the economy and the central bank's policy framework."

The loonie hit 5-day highs of 97.28 against the yen and 1.4243 against the euro, off early lows of 96.76 and 1.4334, respectively. Further uptrend may take the loonie to resistance levels of around 98.00 against the yen and 1.416 against the euro.

The loonie advanced to 1.1006 against the U.S. dollar, its highest since September 11, from Monday's closing value of 1.1052. The next possible resistance for the loonie is seen around the 1.095 zone.

The loonie extended its early gains against the aussie, reaching more than 2-month high of 0.9943. The loonie is poised to challenge resistance around the 0.99 region.