Disappointing Canadian jobs report for a change: only 3.2K jobs gained after 19.4K beforehand. The unemployment rate is down from 6.7% to 6.5% but the good news is fueled by a drop in the participation rate from 65.9% to 65.6%, so basically this drop is not such great news.
USD/CAD is mixed and trading around the same levels of 1.3770. In the US, the economy gained 211K jobs but wage growth slowed to 2.5%. This means there is more slack in the US economy. The two reports balance out each other.
Canada was expected to report a gain of 10K jobs in April after 19.4K in March. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged at 6.7%. The previous participation rate was 65.9%.
USD/CAD traded under the resistance line of 1.38. The pair was rejected this high level as oil prices stabilized. However, the bigger picture is a severe downfall. The price of the black gold collapsed. WTI Crude broke below support at $47 and Brent slipped below $50.
At the same time, the US is releasing its own jobs report, the Non-Farm Payrolls, triggering significant volatility in USD/CAD.
Recent jobs reports from Canada have been positive, beating expectations.
More: Oil slips, but CAD stays put – what’s next?
