(RTTNews) - In early deals on Friday, the Canadian dollar gained ground against its U.S., Japanese and Australian counterparts as oil rose today on upbeat data from China and the United States. The loonie jumped to a 3-day high against the yen.
On the other hand, the Canadian dollar slipped against the euro.
Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 48 cents to $71.02 in Asian deals. On Thursday, the contract fell as low as $69.81 before settling down 13 cents at $70.54.
The Canadian dollar, which closed yesterday's trading at 83.98 against the yen climbed to a 3-day high of 84.76 in early deals on Friday. The next upside target level for the loonie-yen pair is seen at 85.9.
Japanese consumer confidence eased to 39.9 in November from 40.8 last month, a monthly survey conducted by the Cabinet Office showed today. The index stood below the expected level of 40.7.
During early deals on Friday, the Canadian dollar rose to 1.0498 against the US currency. This may be compared to Thursday's close of 1.0515. The near term resistance for the loonie is seen at 1.044.
The currencies of .S. and Japan declined today as gains in the global stocks gave traders confidence to bet on higher-yielding assets.
Against the Aussie, the Canadian dollar strengthened to 0.9617 in early trading on Friday. On the upside, 0.955 is seen as the next target level for the loonie. At yesterday's close, the aussie-loonie pair was quoted at 0.9639.
In early trading on Friday, the Canadian dollar fell to 1.5517 against the euro. If the loonie weakens further, it may target the 1.558 level. The euro-loonie pair closed yesterday's deals at 1.5492.
Traders are now likely to focus on the North American session, in which the U.S. Department of Commerce will release its data on advance retail sales for November at 8:30 am ET. The pace of growth in advance retail sales are expected to slow 0.6 percent in the month, while excluding autos, retail sales are expected to come in at 0.4 percent.
The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for December is due to be released at 10:00 am ET. The report is expected to show that the consumer sentiment index rose to 68.8 in the month.
At the same time, the Commerce Department is due to release its business inventories report. Economists expect business inventories at the end of October to show a 0.2% decline.
