The Canadian Dollar exchange rate advanced to a one-week high against the Pound (CAD/GBP) and made gains against the US Dollar (CAD/USD) following the release of upbeat Canadian jobs data.
Earlier in the session the Pound Sterling exchange rate declined against a number of most traded peers after UK trade data showed that the nation’s trade deficit widened from £8.95 billion in August to £9.82 billion in September.
Also continuing to weigh upon the Pound was the Bank of England’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged at the record low level of 0.5%. The policy committee also voted to leave the monthly quantitative easing programme unchanged at £375 billion per month.
The US Dollar meanwhile went on the back foot against a number of peers including the Pound, Canadian Dollar and Euro after data showed that the US economy created fewer jobs than forecast last month.
The ‘Greenback’ came under pressure after the Department of Labour said the U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs last month, disappointing expectations for an increase of 231,000. The number of jobs added in September was revised to 256,000 from a previously estimated 248,000.
The Canadian Dollar exchange rate rallied strongly against most of its major peers after data released by Statistics Canada showed that unemployment in Canada fell to its lowest level since November 2008.
The overall unemployment rate fell to 6.5% last month as Canadian businesses created 43,100 new jobs. The report marked the second month of improvement.
‘The see-saw pattern is gone. The employment rebound in the past two months is a refreshing dose of reassurance on growth,’ said Avery Shenfield, chief economist at CIBC World Markets.
With the continuingly strong jobs figures out of the USA and now Canada confidence is growing that the North American recovery is continuing apace.
‘While monthly job numbers can volatile, the significant increase in the last two months indicates a positive trend. Our plan for jobs and growth is working. I’m very pleased that over 80% of the jobs created are full time, over a longer period, over 80% are in the public sector, and over two-thirds are high-paying jobs. The general direction is very positive,’ said Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver.
Among industries, employment grew in retail and wholesale trade, finance, insurance and real estate and manufacturing while it fell in public administration and natural resources, which has suffered from declining commodity prices in recent months.
Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate Holds onto Gains
The Canadian Dollar strengthened broadly against the US Dollar and Pound last week and continued to hold onto gains on Monday as last weeks stronger than forecast Canadian jobs data continued to offer support.
With a lack of major market moving data releases due the ‘Loonie’ is likely to remain supported throughout the day.
Potential weakness could come from renewed concerns over the standoff between the West and Russia.
Canadian Dollar (CAD) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Canadian Dollar,
,Pound Sterling,0.5557 ,
Canadian Dollar,,US Dollar,0.8829 ,
Canadian Dollar,,Euro,0.7074 ,
Canadian Dollar,,Australian Dollar,1.0179,
Canadian Dollar,,New Zealand Dollar,1.1306 ,
US Dollar,,Canadian Dollar,1.1326 ,
Pound Sterling,,Canadian Dollar,1.7994 ,
Euro,,Canadian Dollar,1.4133 ,
Australian Dollar,,Canadian Dollar,0.9822 ,
New Zealand Dollar,,Canadian Dollar,0.8843 ,
[/table]
