The Canadian economy lost 31.2K jobs in July, much worse than +10K expected. The unemployment rate rose to 6.9% as expected. The unemployment rate did not rise thanks to a drop in the participation rate to 65.4%.
USD/CAD is moving up, also on a strong US NFP. The gain of 255K lifts the US dollar.
Adding insult to injury, Canada lost 71.4K full time jobs. Part-time jobs increased 40.2K. This is not positive.
Canada was expected to report a gain of 10.2K jobs in July 2016, after a small loss of 700 jobs in June. The unemployment rate was projected to tick up from 6.8% to 6.9%. The participation rate stood at 65.5% in June, and this naturally impacts the level of unemployment.
USD/CAD traded around 1.30. It is critical to note that US Non-Farm Payrolls is released at the same time. The American jobs report always rocks the boat.
Oil prices managed to stabilize and perhaps hit a bottom after a few weeks of slides. The dip under $40 was only temporary.
More: CAD: Further Weakness Still In Store; Where To Target? – CIBC
