USD/CAD hits 7-day low after U.S. new home sales data

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The Canadian dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, hitting a 7-day high, FX traders’ risk appetite improved and as global equities advanced on upbeat U.S. housing data.

In European afternoon currency trading, USD/CAD hit 1.0303, its lowest since July 15. The currency pair later retreated somewhat to trade at 1.0337, down 0.19 percent on the day.

Official data showed earlier that new U.S. home sales rose sharply in June compared with the previous month, and at a faster rate than expected.

According to the Commerce Department, sales rose to an annual rate of 330,000 in June from a revised 267,000 in May. Analysts had expected June’s figure to come in at 317,000, two global forex news outlets reported.

According to forex analysis, USD/CAD was likely to touch support around the low of July 15, 1.0277, and encounter immediate resistance around the daily high, 1.0382.

The loonie’s gains also came after Canada’s bankruptcy superintendent reported on Monday that Canadian bankruptcies fell 9.2 percent in May from a month earlier.

Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar fell versus the yen: CAD/JPY traded at 84.12, down 0.4 percent.