Canada gained 59.3KÂ jobs in November. Early expectations stood on a gain of 11.3K. The unemployment rate now stands at 7.2%, much better than 7.4% that was expected.
USD/CAD traded at around 0.9920 before the release and is not tumbling down to 0.9885.
US Non-Farm Payrolls surprised to the upside – This adds fuel to the fire.
The participation rate dropped from 63.8% to 63.6% – this explains some of the drop in the unemployment rate. Most job gains were full time jobs, making this report even stronger.
It’s important to note that the US Non-Farm Payrolls, released at the same time, usually has a stronger impact on the pair and also on the Canadian dollar against other currencies.
For more on the loonie, see the Canadian dollar forecast.