The Canadian dollar sank today as fundamental reports were very bad, even worse that forecasts, which were not optimistic. The currency managed to outperform the Japanese yen, which remained soft because of aggressive quantitative easing from the Bank of Japan.
Analysts have expected a meager employment growth by 6,800 jobs in March, but the actual report frustrated even pessimists as it showed a drop by 54,500. What is more, the unemployment rate rose from 7.0 percent to 7.2 percent. On top of that, the trade balance deficit widened from C$746 million in January to C$1.0 billion in February, while economists have predicted a surplus of $200 million.
The Canadian currency managed to hold ground against its US counterpart yesterday even as forecasters had somewhat pessimistic expectations about today’s reports. The actual data turned out to be even worse, halting the loonie’s four-day rally against the greenback. The yen was even weaker than the Canadian dollar, allowing the loonie to reach highs not seen since 2008.
USD/CAD climbed from 1.0124 to 1.0177 as of 17:53 GMT today, almost wiping the four-day gains, while it touched 1.0234 intraday. EUR/CAD surged from 1.3098 to 1.3249, reaching the intraday high of 1.3314. CAD/JPY went up from 95.08 to 95.53 after tumbling to 93.89.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Canadian Dollar,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.