The Canadian dollar fell yesterday and extended its drop today after crude oil declined, while unemployment in Canada unexpectedly increased last month and employment growth was lower than anticipated.
The Canadian unemployment rate rose from 7.4 percent in November to 7.5 percent in December, while most specialists in the labor market expected it to stay unchanged. Canadian employers added 17,500 jobs last month, compared to the median forecast of 17,800. That’s still better than a decline by 18.600 in November.
Crude oil was little changed at $101.90 per barrel in New York today after it dropped $1.41 to $101.81 yesterday as US inventories increased and the European crisis damped demand. The performance of the Canadian currency depends on oil prices as crude is the most important export commodity of Canada. Crude oil may yet advance on tensions around Iran, boosting Canada’s dollar.
USD/CAD rose from 1.0195 to 1.0209 and CAD/JPY advanced from 75.56 to 75.66 as of 13:39 GMT today. Meanwhile, EUR/CAD retreated from 1.3038 to 1.3006.
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