The Canadian dollar drifted lower against its most major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, as oil prices fell following an official data showing a surprise build in crude oil inventories last week.

Crude for September delivery fell $0.76 to $66.99 per barrel.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. crude stocks rose by 5.8 million barrels last week, compared with a forecast of a decline of 3.6 million barrels.

Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline inventories and distillate stockpiles dropped by 3.2 million barrels and 371,000 barrels last week.

Higher dollar also undermined the oil, as it makes the dollar denominated commodity more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The dollar was supported by upbeat remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who reiterated a gradual pace of rate hikes amid strengthening economic growth.

The currency traded mixed against its major counterparts in the Asian session. While it fell against the aussie and the greenback, it held steady against the euro and the yen.

The loonie edged down to 1.3243 against the greenback and 1.5364 against the euro, from its early 2-day high of 1.3160 and a 2-week high of 1.5320, respectively. The next possible support for the loonie is seen around 1.34 against the greenback and 1.55 against the euro.

Reversing from an early high of 85.72 against the yen, the loonie dropped to 85.33. The loonie is likely to target support around the 84.00 area.

Data from the the Ministry of Finance showed that Japan logged a merchandise trade surplus of 721.408 billion yen in June.

That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 531.2 billion yen following the 578.3 billion yen deficit in May. On the flip side, the loonie advanced to an 8-day high of 0.9714 against the aussie, after falling to a 9-day low of 0.9796 at 9:30 pm ET. If the loonie continues its rise, 0.96 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 5.4 percent in June.

That was in line with expectations and unchanged from the previous month.

Looking ahead, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended July 14 and leading index for June are scheduled for release in the New York session.

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