In the Asian session on Wednesday, the Canadian dollar advanced against its U.S., European and Japanese counterparts.
Except Chinese stocks, other Asian stock markets rose today following a rise in U.S. stocks overnight.
Sentiment in Asia was bolstered by encouraging reports on South Korea’s fourth quarter GDP and Japan’s industrial production for February.
Japan’s industrial production rose 0.4 percent in February, beating forecasts for a 0.1 percent monthly contraction following the 1.3 percent gain in January.
On an annual basis, industrial production climbed 2.8 percent -below expectations for a 4.0 percent climb following the 3.5 percent increase in the previous month.
South Korea’s gross domestic product climbed 6.2 percent year-over-year in 2010, upwardly revised from the 6.1 percent increase estimated initially. This was the highest rate of growth since the 7.2 percent in 2002.
However, crude oil prices fell in Asia amid easing concerns about political unrest in Libya.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 51 cents to $104.28 a barrel at 1:31 am ET. The contract ended up 81 cents at $104.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.
The Canadian dollar that closed yesterday’s deals at 84.67 against the Japanese yen is currently trading near a 3-week high of 85.30. The next upside target level for the loonie is seen at 85.6.
Against the euro, the Canadian dollar is presently trading at a 2-week high of 1.3695. This may be compared to yesterday’s close of 1.3754. On the upside, 1.340 is seen as the next target level for the Canadian currency.
The Canadian dollar is now trading trading at more than a 2-week high of 0.9730 against the US dollar. If the loonie advances further, it may likely target the 0.970 level. At yesterday’s close, the greenback-loonie pair was quoted at 0.9746.
In the upcoming European session, the Eurozone economic confidence and the Swiss KOF leading indicator – both for March are slated for release.
The U.S. ADP employment report for March and Canada’s industrial product price for February are expected in the New York session.