Canadian Dollar Drops As Retail Sales Fall Unexpectedly

(RTTNews) - The Canadian dollar moved down against its major counterparts in the New York session on Wednesday, following the release of weak retail sales data for February.

Data from Statistics Canada showed that retail sales fell 0.1 percent in February following a 0.3 percent drop in the previous month. Economists had expected retail sales to rise to 0.1 percent.

Core retail sales, excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers, declined 0.3 percent, after a revised 0.4 percent rise in January. Core retail sales were expected to stagnate in the month.

Traders await more economic data this week, including the release of first-quarter U.S. GDP data as well as the core personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation.

The economic data is expected to influence the timing of rate cuts by the Fed.

The loonie dropped to a 5-day low of 1.4670 against the euro and a 2-day low of 1.3728 against the greenback, from an early high of 1.4609 and a 2-week high of 1.3654, respectively. The loonie is seen finding support around 1.48 against the euro and 1.39 against the greenback.

The loonie weakened to a 9-day low of 0.8918 against the aussie and a 2-day low of 112.84 against the yen, from an early high of 0.8853 and a multi-year high of 113.37, respectively. The loonie may locate support around 0.92 against the aussie and 108.00 against the yen.