Canada was expected to report a gain of 13.3K jobs in December. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged at 6.9%. At the same time, the US releases its own jobs report: the Non-Farm Payrolls. Last month, Canada gained a solid 34.8K jobs in November. This was revised up from 21.6K originally reported.
USD/CAD extended its gains towards the publication, rising to around 1.0880. The pair now trades above 1.09.
Canada’s participation rate remained unchanged at 66.4%. The loss of full time jobs was even worse than the headline number with a loss of 60K jobs. A rise in part time jobs, 14.2K only partially countered that.
The US also disappointed with a job gain of only 74K.
The Canadian dollar has an awful 2014 so far. Weak trade balance numbers and a negative Ivey PMI sent the Canadian dollar to a 4 year low against the US dollar. It broke the 1.0780 level and didn’t stop at 1.0850.
The next level to watch is 1.10, which was a resistance line and also a round number. Support is at 1.0780. For more, see the Canadian dollar forecast.
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