The Canadian dollar today posted gains against the US dollar after the release of upbeat Canadian employment data in the early American session. The USD/CAD currency pair alternated between gains and losses, given that both the loonie and the greenback were weak overall.
The USD/CAD currency pair today traded in a wide range marked by a low of 1.3379 and a high of 1.3429 and was within this range at the time of writing.
The currency pair today traded in a similar range to yesterday’s as the Canadian dollar remained under pressure after the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve both cut rates by 50 basis points. The loonie was under more pressure given the significant drop in global crude oil prices, as evidenced by the West Texas Intermediate dropping to a low of 42.89 today. Today’s decline in the WTI was driven by news that Russia would not support the deeper oil cuts proposed by OPEC and its allies. The release of the Canadian labour market report by Statistics Canada boosted the loonie briefly as the country created 30,300 jobs versus the expected 10,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remained stable at 5.6%.
The release of the upbeat US non-farm payrolls report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics had a muted impact on the currency pair. The US Dollar Index remained under pressure as US Treasury yields continue to fall amid high demand for safe-haven assets.
The currency pair’s performance over the upcoming weekend is likely to be influenced by geopolitical events and crude oil prices.
The USD/CAD currency pair was trading at 1.3425 as at 15:06 GMT, having risen from a low of 1.1179. The CAD/JPY currency pair was trading at 78.35, having dropped from a high of 79.40.
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