Canada Dollar Falls on U.S. Retail Sales Drop, European Concern

The Canadian dollar fell against its U.S. counterpart for the first time this week as U.S retail sales dropped the most in nine months and on reports that steps to strengthen Europe’s financial system were faltering.

The currency pared a weekly gain against the greenback as retail sales in the U.S., Canada’s largest trading partner, fell 0.4 percent in March after a 1.1 percent gain the month before. Cyprus was forced to deny it required additional European aid and Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper reported a discussion on direct bank recapitalization from Europe’s bailout fund was “going in circles.” Futures bets that Canada’s currency would fall against its U.S. counterpart outnumbered wagers it would rise by the most in six years, data today showed.