A disappointing jobs report from Canada: the nation loses 19.7K jobs, worse than expected. The unemployment rate is at 6.8% which is actually better than expected. The participation rate is down to 65.8% from 65.9%.
USD/CAD dances around, extending its range to 1.2040-1.2143 before stabilizing around 1.21.
Full time employment rose by 46.9K, which is an important positive detail that provides a sliver lining for the overall loss in jobs.
Canada was expected to report a drop of 4.5K jobs in April after a leap of 28.7K jobs in March. The unemployment rate carried expectations for a rise from 6.8% to 6.9%.
USD/CAD was trading around 1.21. It is important to remember that the United States also released its own report, the Non-Farm Payrolls, at the exact same time.
Non-Farm Payrolls: +223K – as expected
The Canadian dollar managed to advance to new highs against the greenback earlier in the week, with USD/CAD dropping under 1.1940, but then rose back as the USD recovered and as the rise in oil prices moderated.
More: USD/CAD: Make Or Break?– SocGen
