2018.07.1010:03:00UTC+00Canadian Dollar Advances On Higher Oil Prices

The Canadian dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in the European session on Tuesday, as oil prices advanced on worries over supply disruption from Norway, where oil workers began strike in Knarr field in the North Sea.

Crude for August delivery rose $0.32 to $74.17 per barrel.

Rejecting a proposed wage deal, workers on Norwegian oil and gas offshore rigs began strike from today, which has affected the production at Shell's Knarr field.

Production at Knarr field was shut temporarily, which has the capacity to produce 23,900 barrels of crude per day.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its crude inventory data later in the day, with analysts forecasting a fall of 4.2 million barrels in the week ended July 6. The Energy Information Administration's official data is due on Wednesday.

The Bank of Canada is scheduled to release its interest rate decision on Wednesday. Economists are forecasting a 25 basis point hike in the benchmark rate, taking it to 1.50 percent from 1.25 percent.

With today's U.S. economic calendar being light, investors await reports on producer and consumer price inflation due to be released in the coming days.

The loonie dropped against its major counterparts in the Asian session, with the exception of the yen.

The loonie advanced to 84.77 against the yen, its strongest since June 14. The loonie is seen finding resistance around the 86.00 level.

Data from the Bank of Japan showed that Japan M2 money stock rose 3.2 percent on year in June, coming in at 1,007.2 trillion yen. That was in line with expectations and unchanged from the previous month.

The M3 money stock was up an annual 2.7 percent to 1,336.6 trillion yen - again unchanged and matching forecasts.

The loonie hit a 4-day high of 1.5363 against the euro, reversing from an early 4-day low of 1.5427. The next possible resistance for the loonie is seen around the 1.52 level.

Survey data from the Centre for European Economic Research showed that German investor confidence fell to its lowest level in nearly six years in July, as sentiment was hurt by political uncertainty.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany dropped 8.6 points to minus 24.7 points, which was the lowest reading since August 2012.

Having fallen to more than a 2-week low of 0.9813 against the aussie at 11:15 pm ET, the loonie reversed direction and rose to 0.9762. The loonie is likely to find resistance around the 0.96 level.

The latest survey from National Australian Bank showed that Australia business confidence was unchanged in June, with an index score of +6.

That's unchanged from the May reading.

On the flip side, the loonie slipped to a 4-day low of 1.3146 against the greenback at 7:00 am ET and held steady thereafter. The pair closed Monday's deals at 1.3107.