Home Daily Commentaries The Loonie falls after lousy employment numbers

The Loonie falls after lousy employment numbers

Daily Currency Update

CAD - Canadian DollarWe updated the OFX Daily Commentary. Our new layout improves your read and gives you more insight into currency news.The Loonie retreats this morning after disappointing employment data, which is reflected in the 0.22 percent increase for the USD/CAD pair at the time of this writing. Canada lost 7,200 jobs, while the expectation was for a 6,000 gain. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8 percent. This news is critical because the last Canadian job gains were very positive and had helped bolster investor sentiment for the Loonie; today is completely the contrary. In other news, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland advised against the idea of reinstating a new continental trade pact with the United States and Mexico, saying it could be a “Pandora’s box.” Furthermore, to add more negative news to the Loonie, Canadian oilseed growers are reeling from the Asian giant’s decision to cut imports, according BNN. Technically speaking, the USD/CAD pair is trading actively to the upside, with the first resistance at the 1.3400 handle and a second resistance of 1.3417 and 1.3443. The support levels for today are 1.3367, 1.3356 and 1.3340.

Key Movers

British Prime Minister Theresa May asked the European Union for an extension to the Brexit deadline to June 30th to give time to reach an agreement with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn. Also, the European Council President Donald Tusk is proposing to make an offer of a 12-month "flexible" extension to the Brexit deadline. However, the British Pound, the third component of the US dollar index after the Euro and Japanese Yen, did not hold gains and started to fall at 2:30 in the morning EST. Some rumours are saying that the talks have not been constructive, which remains a Brexit syndrome with a fast-approaching deadline next week on April 12th, where the UK might leave without a deal at all. The GBP/CAD pair is falling 0.13 percent, with the bad news from the UK outweighing the weak fundamentals of the Canadian economy. The next support to be seen is the 1.7315 level; if broken, it can test 1.7280.

Expected Ranges

  • USD/CAD: 1.3360 - 1.3405 ▲
  • CAD/EUR: 0.6642 - 0.6680 ▼
  • CAD/GBP: 0.5695 - 0.5757 ▲
  • CAD/AUD: 1.0470 - 1.0531 ▼
  • CAD/NZD: 1.1075 - 1.1143 ▲