Forex - USD/CAD edges higher after U.S., Canadian data

The U.S. dollar edged higher against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after positive U.S. data boosted demand for the greenback, while a disappointing economic report out of Canada weighed on the loonie. 

USD/CAD hit 1.0187 during early U.S. trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0171, adding 0.12%. 

The pair was likely to find support at 1.0150, the low of May 16 and resistance at 1.0227, Thursday's high. 

Official data showed that U.S. producer price inflation, including food and energy, rose 0.5% in May, beating expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.7% decline the previous month. 

Core producer price inflation rose 0.1% last month, in line with expectations, after a 0.1% gain in April. 

However, a separate report showed that industrial production in the U.S. was flat in May, confounding expectations for a 0.2% rise, after a 0.4% fall the previous month. 

The data came one day after better-than-expected U.S. economic reports boosted expectations that the Fed will unwind its asset purchase program later this year. 

The U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by 12,000 to 334,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 1,000 to 345,000.

Separately, the Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% in May, led higher by increased automobile purchases, beating forecasts for a 0.4% increase. 

In Canada, official data showed that manufacturing sales dropped 2.4% in April, disappointing expectations for a 0.3% rise, after a 0.6% fall the previous month. 

The loonie was higher against the euro with EUR/CAD losing 0.22%, to hit 1.3554. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.