Weak fundamental data on the US economy did not allow the US dollar to continue strengthening against the euro and the British pound. This was observed during the first half of the day when the publication of the European Central Bank's protocols seriously affected the quotes of risky assets.
In the afternoon, data showed that the number of Americans who applied for new unemployment benefits last week declined.
According to the report of the US Department of Labor, the number of initial applications for unemployment benefits for the week, from August 6 to August 12, fell by 12,000 to 232,000. Economists had expected the number of new applications to be at 240,000.
The slowdown of activity in the manufacturing sector of the Fed in Philadelphia had a negative impact on the rates of the US dollar.
According to the report of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the production index in August of this year fell to 18.9 points from 19.5 points in July. Economists had expected the index to fall to 16 points. The index of new orders rose to 20.4 points while the supply index fell to 17 points.
A small increase in industrial production temporarily support the US dollar. According to the Federal Reserve, industrial production in the US for the month of July this year increased by 0.2% compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, economists expected a growth of 0.3%. Such a weak growth was due to a slowdown in the production of cars, which affects the entire manufacturing sector.
The Canadian dollar fell against the US dollar after it became known that sales in the manufacturing sector of Canada for the month of June showed a decline.
According to the Bureau of Statistics of Canada, supplies in the manufacturing sector in June of this year fell by 1.8% and amounted to 53.9 billion Canadian dollars. The fall was due to a sharp decline in activity in the oil sector and partly in the coal sector. Economists expected a drop in supplies of 1.0%. Compared with June of the previous year, sales increased by 6.2%.
As for the technical prospects of the USDCAD pair, the downward corrective wave seems to be coming to an end. A return to a large resistance level of 1.2680 will lead to a new round of growth with a return already to the level of 1.2730 and an update of monthly highs in the 1.2770 area.