Canada jobs sends CAD to 14-week high

The Canadian dollar has posted modest gains in the Monday session. Currently, USD/CAD is trading at 1.2452, down 0.15% on the day.

Sharp Canada jobs sends loonie higher 

On Friday, the focus was on jobs data on both sides of the border. In the US, there was plenty of hype around the September nonfarm payrolls, but in the end the report under-delivered. The economy created just 194 thousand new jobs, nowhere near the consensus of around 500 thousand. However, there was positive news as well. Unemployment fell to 4.8%, down from 5.1% previously. As well, wage growth climbed 0.6%, up from 0.4%. The strong wage gains provide further ammunition to the argument that high inflation is not so transient after all. On a year-to-year basis, wages were up 4.6%.  With inflation running at a 30-year high, the Fed’s stance that inflation will soon ease is becoming somewhat hollow.

The sharp unemployment and wage growth readings helped soothe any fears that the weak nonfarm payrolls reading might cause a ‘taper off’. The Fed will want to begin tapering ahead of expected rate hikes in 2022, and December seems a likely start-off for tapering, even though back-to-back NFP reports have been on the low side and below expectations.

It was a different story in Canada, where job creation surprised on the upside, with a strong read of 157 thousand, compared to the forecast of 60 thousand. A milestone of sorts was reached, as the number of jobs in the country has now reached the pre-pandemic level (February 2020). The unemployment rate fell from 7.1% to 6.9%, which is also the lowest level since the pandemic started. The strong Canadian numbers and positive reaction to the US job numbers sent the Canadian dollar higher on Friday. USD/CAD fell 1.39% last week, as the Canadian dollar enjoyed its best week since August.

.

 USD/CAD Technical

  • 1.2400 has weakened in support as the Canadian dollar has strengthened. This line has held since July. Below, there is support at 1.2325
  • There is resistance at 1.2602. This is followed by resistance at 1.2729

 

 

 

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Market Analyst at OANDA
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.