Daily Currency Update
USD - United States DollarAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, total non farm payroll employment rose by 266k in November; the expected number was 181k. The U.S. dollar jumps 0.2 percent versus the Euro and 0.6 percent versus the Canadian dollar because, at the same time in Canada, employment numbers came in weaker than expected. The unemployment rate in the U.S. came in at 3.5 percent versus 3.6 percent, which was much better than expected. The labor force participation rate was little changed at 63.3 percent in November. The U.S. dollar is also outperforming the Pound and Swiss Franc by 0.2 and 0.3 percent.On the trade agreement front, Trump is again showing his unpredictability as he stated trade talks with China were "moving right along" only two days after pouring cold water on outlook. We may see phase one of a deal or at least a delay in tariffs rising by the 15th December, which is when the next round of tariff hikes is due. Equity markets around the world are higher as a result.
Key Movers
Canada lost 71 k jobs in November and the unemployment rate rose to 5.9 percent, the highest rate since the 6 percent reported in August 2018. The losses happened in the manufacturing and public administration sectors. The Canadian unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to 5.9 percent. According to Statistics Canada, goods-producing industries saw a decline of 26 k net jobs, mainly in manufacturing, and the service sector lost 44 k net jobs. This is creating doubt amongst market participants regarding the Canadian economy. BoC Deputy Governor Timothy Lane said that a strong labor market underpins the economy, but is he right?
Expected Ranges
- USD/CAD: 1.3219 - 1.3265 ▲
- EUR/USD: 1.1051 - 1.1090 ▼
- GBP/USD: 1.3100 - 1.3203 ▼
- AUD/USD: 0.6803 - 0.6858 ▲
- NZD/USD: 0.6542 - 0.6580 ▲