Canadian Dollar Gains on Upbeat Jobs Report, Falls on Russian Oil News

The  Canadian dollar today posted gains against the  US dollar after the  release of  upbeat Canadian employment data in the early American session. The USD/CAD currency pair alternated between gains and losses, given that both the loonie and the greenback were weak overall.
The  USD/CAD currency pair today traded in  a  wide range marked by  a  low of  1.3379 and  a  high of  1.3429 and  was within this range at  the  time of  writing.
The  currency pair today traded in  a  similar range to  yesterday’s as  the  Canadian dollar remained under pressure after the  Bank of  Canada and the Federal Reserve both cut rates by 50 basis points. The loonie was under more pressure given the significant drop in global crude oil prices, as evidenced by the West Texas Intermediate dropping to  a  low of  42.89 today. Today’s decline in  the  WTI was driven by  news that Russia would not support the  deeper oil cuts proposed by  OPEC and  its allies. The  release of  the  Canadian labour market report by  Statistics Canada boosted the  loonie briefly as  the  country created 30,300 jobs versus the  expected 10,000 jobs. The  unemployment rate remained stable at  5.6%.
The  release of  the  upbeat US non-farm payrolls report by  the  Bureau of  Labor Statistics had a  muted impact on  the  currency pair. The  US Dollar Index remained under pressure as  US Treasury yields continue to  fall amid high demand for  safe-haven assets.
The  currency pair’s performance over the  upcoming weekend is likely to  be influenced by  geopolitical events and  crude oil prices.
The USD/CAD currency pair was trading at 1.3425 as at 15:06 GMT, having risen from a low of 1.1179. The CAD/JPY currency pair was trading at 78.35, having dropped from a high of 79.40.

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