The Canadian dollar matches one American one. The strengthening of the loonie came as a reaction to a great housing report in Canada, and surprisingly not on important employment figures in both countries.
Canadian employment figures leaped by 15.3% – five times the early expectations that stood on a small rise of 3%. This figure was released at 12:30 GMT, the same time as the Non-Farm Payrolls were released in the US.
Non-Farm Payrolls surprised with a gain of 151K jobs, far better than expected. EUR/USD, GBP/USD dropped on this greenback positive news, but the Canadian dollar leaped. The building permits overcame US strength – USD/CAD dropped from 1.0070 to 1.0000 after the release. USD/CAD parity is with us once again.
Earlier today, mixed employment figures shook the Canadian dollar- on one hand, only 3,00 jobs were gained in Canada, weaker than a gain of 14,000 that was expected. But on the other hand, the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped from 8% to 7.9%. The reaction in USD/CAD was limited choppy trading. The big move came after the building permits were released.
It’s also important to note that oil prices are on the rise – a rise that began after the announcement of quantitative easing in the US – which gave a boost to commodities. As an exporter of oil, Canada and the Canadian dollar enjoy the rising price of oil.
USD/CAD levels below parity are 0.9930 (the 2010 low), 0.98 and 0.97 (levels from 2008). Above, 1.01, 1.02 and 1.0350 will resist a stronger US dollar.
Want to see what other traders are doing in real accounts? Check out Currensee. It’s free..
