The Pound (GBP) made gains against the Canadian Dollar (CAD) on Friday afternoon as disappointing jobs data and geopolitical concerns weighed heavily upon the North American currency.
The Canadian Dollar was trading in the region of 0.542 against the Pound and was trading in the region of 0.916 against the US Dollar (USD), a three-month low.
Official data released by Statistics Canada showed that the nation’s employers added fewer jobs than forecast in July, adding to market concerns that the Canadian economy is slowing.
The weaker than forecast data will also heighten worries that Canada’s economy is diverging from that of the USA’s.
The report showed that the number of people finding jobs increased by 200 last months, well below economist forecasts for an increase of 20,000.
The data also showed that the nation’s unemployment rate eased slightly to 7% in July, down from the 7.1% figure seen in the preceding month.
‘The ‘Loonie’ will be off the rails and will be knocking on the C$1.10 level rather quickly,’ said Dean Popplewell, head analyst at the Toronto based trading firm Oanda Corp.
Also weighing upon the Canadian Dollar was news from Iraq where it was confirmed that US fighter jets launched air strikes against targets of the Islamic State.
The Pentagon said that American aircraft attacked an artillery position being used against Kurdish forces in the north of the country. Two F/A-18 aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on mobile artillery near Irbil.
The strikes come as the threat of genocide of religious minority’s by Islamist Jihadists grew.
Adding to geopolitical concerns is the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
Visiting Kiev this week, NATO’s secretary general says that Moscow has massed troops on the country’s border with Ukraine in preparation for a possible ground invasion.
Pound Sterling to Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) Exchange Rate Forecast
The Pound is likely to make further gains against the Canadian Dollar and other commodity and emerging market currencies over the weekend as geopolitical issues looks set to dominate sentiment.
The next session major Pound movement is likely to occur next Wednesday with the release of the latest UK unemployment data. A further decline in the jobless rate is likely to offer the Pound support as investors will likely raise their forecasts for the Bank of England to raise interest rates before the end of the year.
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,0.5431 ,
Canadian Dollar,,US Dollar,0.9132 ,
Canadian Dollar,,Euro,0.6814 ,
Canadian Dollar,,Australian Dollar,0.9833,
Canadian Dollar,,New Zealand Dollar,1.0807 ,
US Dollar,,Canadian Dollar,1.0954 ,
Pound Sterling,,Canadian Dollar,1.8415 ,
Euro,,Canadian Dollar,1.4606 ,
Australian Dollar,,Canadian Dollar,1.0167 ,
New Zealand Dollar,,Canadian Dollar,0.9246 ,
[/table]
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