Forexpros - The U.S. dollar edged higher against the Canadian dollar on Thursday, but the pair looked likely to remain rangebound ahead of a keenly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday. USD/CAD hit 0.9921 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s highest since August 27; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9907, gaining 0.14%. The pair was likely to find support at 0.9865, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.9946, the high of August 24. Investors remained cautious ahead of Bernanke’s speech at a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, amid ongoing speculation over how close the Fed may be to implementing more economic stimulus measures. The greenback showed little reaction to official data showing that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week held steady at 374,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 4,000. A separate report showed that personal income in the U.S. rose by 0.3% in July, matching forecasts, after rising by a revised 0.3% in June. Personal spending rose 0.4%, in line with expectations after a flat reading in June. In Canada, official data showed that the current account deficit expanded by a larger-than-forecast CAD5.9 billion to CAD16.0 billion in the second quarter, mainly on lower exports and higher imports of goods. The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD up 0.29% to 1.2433. In the euro zone, Italy saw borrowing costs ease at an auction of five and 10-year bonds earlier, reflecting expectations that the European Central Bank is working on measures to help stabilize the euro zone's sovereign debt markets ahead of its upcoming meeting on September 6.

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