Record high Canadian factory shipment figures did not help the Canadian dollar on Wednesday as US economic reports prompted a broad rally in the US currency.
The Canadian dollar, which continued to see-saw in the same range it has been in all month, closed at C$1.2972 to the US dollar, or 77.09 US cents, down from C$1.2934 to the US dollar, or 77.32 US cents, at Tuesday's close.
"This is a little bit surprising because we got very good numbers coming from Canada. The negative is (high) oil prices, something that is supposed to support the Canadian economy but at the same time, people are talking about to what extent this will have a negative impact on the American economy," said Benjamin Tal, senior economist at CIBC World Markets.
"We have two factors here that are supposed to support the Canadian dollar and they didn't."
The currency initially bumped higher as Canadian factory shipments rose 0.5 percent in July to a record C$50.2 billion, marking the eighth monthly rise in a row. The data matched analysts' expectations.
The Canadian dollar has been battling in wide daily ranges in recent sessions, unable to sustain a push through C$1.29, but has also kept its low capped at about C$1.3030 so far during September.