Canada lost 54.5K jobs and saw a rise of 0.1% in the unemployment rate. The job loss erases the big leap seen last month and is undoubtedly a terrible report. Canada was expected to see a small rise of 6.8K jobs in March, after a big leap in February. The unemployment rate was expected to tick up from 7% to 7.1%.
USD/CAD traded at around 1.0150 before the release. It is always important to remember that the US released its own jobs data at the same time. USD/CAD jumped above 1.02 and is now struggling with this line.
Canada’s trade balance was expected to shift from a deficit of 0.2 billion to a surplus of the same scale. The deficit actually rose to 1 billion – yet another disappointment.
US Non-Farm Payrolls disappointed badly with only +88K job gains.
Resistance appears at 1.02, 1.0250 and 1.03, while support appears at 1.01 and 1.0066. The chances of seeing USD/CAD parity anytime soon are reduced.
For more on USD/CAD, see the Canadian dollar forecast.
