Week in FX Americas-A Sandy Soaking did not materialize

It was supposed to rain on North American employment this Friday. Well, not so much on the Canadian numbers, but more so on the supposedly Sandy soaked NFP print. Canada’s employment rebounded aggressively from its October drought with an eye-popping +59.3k print. This result suggests that Canada’s Q3 slumber may not worsen into something greater in Q4.

Most of the Canadian gain was in full-time employment. It helped to take some pressure off the unemployment rate, which eased to +7.2%. Digging deeper, not ideal was where most of the jobs were created. They have appeared mostly in the two lower paying sectors of retail trade and hospitality. Industries that are tied to economic strength, like manufacturing and construction, lost jobs in the month.

Canada’s largest trading partner south of the border also beat employment expectations. However, the November NFP print of +146k was offset by a –49k revision to the two previous months. The market had been expecting a greater negative impact from Sandy. This did not materialize. The data included a gain of +53k retail jobs influenced mostly by an earlier Thanksgiving date. The drop in the number of Americans actively looking for work helped push the unemployment rate down to a new four-year low.

• Novembers US Job Growth Quickens
• Fed expected to launch new Bond purchase program after “Twist” expires
• BoC maintains +1% rate target
• Loonie in Demand after Jobs Data
• US Michigan Index Plunges in December
• Canadian Dollar Reaches One-Month High Before Jobs Data
• Obama Corners Senior Republicans on Taxes
• EUR / USD – Pushed Away Strongly from 1.31
• USD / CAD – Finding Great Comfort Around the Support Level at 0.99

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