The Canadian dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, as oil prices firmed after an industry report showed a larger than expected draw in crude inventories last week.

Crude for July delivery rose $0.16 to $58.97 per barrel.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.3 million barrels for the week ended May 24, while analysts had expected a 857,000-barrel drawdown in inventories.

Gasoline inventories fell by 528,000 barrels, while distillate inventories were lower by 2.144 million barrels for the week.

Official data from the Energy Information Administration is due at 10:30 am ET.

European stocks regained some lost ground as investors hunted for bargains following recent string of losses on concerns over the U.S.-China trade dispute and its impact on global growth.

As Beijing threatens the United States with the possibility of a rare earths export ban, Chinese state media has sent an ominously worded warning to Washington: "Don't say we didn't warn you."

The loonie was trading mixed against its major counterparts in the Asian session. While it fell against the euro and the aussie, it held steady against the greenback. Against the yen, it rose.

The loonie appreciated to a 2-day high of 81.38 against the yen, from a low of 80.98 hit at 8:45 pm ET. The loonie is likely to find resistance around the 83.00 level, if it rises further.

The loonie was up by 0.2 percent at 1.3493 against the greenback, compared to 1.3519 hit late New York Wednesday. Next likely resistance for the loonie is seen around the 1.33 level.

The Canadian currency that ended Wednesday's trading at 1.5047 against the euro strengthened to a 2-day high of 1.5023. On the upside, 1.47 is possibly seen as the next resistance level for the loonie.

The loonie edged up to 0.9344 against the aussie, up by 0.2 percent from a low of 0.9367 touched at 1:00 am ET. Continuation of the loonie's uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 0.92 level.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia's building approvals decreased unexpectedly in April.

Dwelling approvals declined by seasonally adjusted 4.7 percent sequentially in April. Meanwhile, economists expected approvals to remain flat for the month.

Looking ahead, Canada current account data and U.S. GDP data for the first quarter, weekly jobless claims for the week ended May 25, wholesale inventories, pending home sales and advance goods trade data, all for April, are due in the New York session.

At 12:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Governor Richard Clarida will deliver a speech at the Economic Club of New York.

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