The Canadian dollar jumped today as positive employment data from the United State boosted risk appetite among Forex traders and overshadowed poor employment report from Canada itself.
Reports ahead of US non-farm payrolls provided a mixed picture about the US employment market as ADP employment report showed less-than-expected growth, while unemployment claims dropped more than was forecast. The payrolls came out today, supporting positive view on employment. US employers added 243,000 jobs in January, compared to the average forecast of 150,000. What’s more, the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent, while it was expected to stay at 8.5 percent.
Canada’s jobs market wasn’t near as good as US one. Employment registered almost no growth in January, showing an increase by just 2,300 jobs, compared to the expected figure of 23,300. The unemployment rate also provided an unpleasant surprise, rising to 7.6 percent, while forecasts said it would stay at the same 7.5 percent level as in the previous month.
USD/CAD was down from 0.9990 to 0.9946, reaching intraday 0.9939 — the lowest price since October 31, while EUR/CAD dropped from 1.3129 to 1.3036 (the lowest since January 19) and traded at about 1.3043 as of 16:40 GMT today. CAD/JPY rose from 76.24 to 76.88.
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