2019.02.2209:59:00UTC+00Canadian Dollar Spikes Up As Oil Prices Rise Amid Ongoing U.S.-China Trade Talks

The Canadian dollar climbed against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday, amid higher oil prices on optimism over U.S.-China trade talks in Washington, D.C.

Crude for April delivery rose $0.69 to $57.65 per barrel.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He later today ahead of an early March deadline to reach a trade deal.

Reuters reported on Thursday that the two sides have started to sketch commitments in principle on the stickiest issues in their trade dispute.

Data from Statistics Canada showed that Canadian retail sales fell in December, as lower sales at gasoline stations were partly offset by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.

Retail sales fell 0.1 percent month-on-month after falling 0.9 percent in the previous month. Economists had forecast a 0.3 percent decline.

Core retail sales dropped 0.5 percent following a 0.6 decrease a month ago. Economists were looking for a 0.3 percent drop.

The currency has been trading lower against its major opponents in the Asian session.

The loonie strengthened to 1.3187 against the greenback, from a 3-day low of 1.3242 set at 10:00 pm ET. The loonie is likely to find resistance around the 1.29 level, if it rises further.

After falling to a 3-day low of 1.5011 against the euro at 2:15 am ET, the loonie reversed direction and climbed to 1.4949. The loonie is seen finding resistance around the 1.48 level.

Data from the Federal Statistical Office confirmed that Germany's economy stagnated in the final three months of the year, thus narrowly avoiding a technical recession.

Gross domestic product was unchanged from the third quarter, when the economy shrunk 0.2 percent. That was in line with the preliminary estimate released on February 14.

The loonie was trading higher at 83.89 against the yen, up from a 3-day low of 83.60 touched at 8:30 pm ET. Next likely resistance for the loonie is seen around the 85.00 level.

Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that Japan consumer prices rose 0.2 percent on year in January.

That was in line with expectations and down from 0.3 percent in December.

On the flip side, the loonie declined to 0.9424 against the aussie, compared to Thursday's closing value of 0.9377. Further uptrend is likely to take the loonie to a resistance around the 0.96 area.