USD/CAD slightly lower after US initial jobless claims

US dollar was slightly losing ground against its Canadian counterpart on Thursday, despite that the number of initial jobless claims in the United States increased less than expected last week, but the political deadlock in the country was still pressuring the greenback.

USD/CAD came off a session high at 1.0338, recorded at 11:01 GMT, to trade at 1.0323 at 13:54 GMT, losing 0.13% for the day. Support was likely to be received at October 1st low, 1.0288, while resistance was to be met at September 11th high, 1.0365.

The Department of Labor in the United States reported that the number of people, who filed for unemployment assistance increased slightly last week, as it remained close to its lowest level in six years. This data has been compiled before some governmental agencies experienced the shutdown. Initial jobless claims rose by 1 000 to reach 308 000 during the week ending on September 28th 2013, while preliminary estimates pointed that claims will reach 315 000. The average number of claims during the past four weeks, an indicator considered as lacking seasonal effects, decreased by 3 750 to 305 000, marking its lowest level since May 2007. However, recent data did not encompass more than 800 000 employees, who were forced to take an unpaid leave due to the partial US government shutdown. The report on initial jobless claims was one of the few governmental reports, published after the shutdown. Other economic reports, including the one on the US non-farm payrolls, scheduled for release on Friday, will probably not be released.

The above mentioned data came out amid uncertainty regarding the possible implications on US economic recovery after the partial shutdown. President Barack Obama held a meeting with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday, although a final solution was still unlikely. House Republican leaders plan to bring up a measure to raise the debt ceiling as soon as next week. According to estimates by the US Treasury the debt limit will probably be reached by October 17th.

Meanwhile, the loonie, as Canadian dollar is also known, was steady against the euro, with EUR/CAD cross ticking up a mere 0.02% on a daily basis to trade at 1.4043. GBP/CAD pair, on the other hand, was falling 0.52% to trade at 1.6687.