Canadian Dollar Advances As Vaccine Hopes Lifts Sentiment

The Canadian dollar rose against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday, as results of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine trial showing effectiveness against the Delta variant lifted sentiment.

Johnson & Johnson announced that preliminary findings suggest its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine offered protection against the Delta variant by inducing neutralizing antibodies.

The J&J vaccine appeared to work against the Delta variant by "neutralizing antibody titers" and other signs of immune system response, it added.

Investors focus on U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due later in the day for more clues on the Fed's QE tapering and a rate hike move.

The jobs report is forecast to show an increase of 690,000 jobs in June from 559,000 jobs in May. The jobless rate is expected to fall to 5.7 percent from 5.8 percent in the previous month.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies are meeting today to make a decision on output levels amid a standoff on restoring more production.

The proposal calls for an output increase of about 2 million barrels a day from August to December, but it met stiff opposition from the United Arab Emirates.

The loonie gained to 1.4685 against the euro and 1.2418 against the greenback, off its early 2-day low of 1.4743 and an 11-day low of 1.2450, respectively. If the loonie rises further, 1.44 and 0.90 are possibly seen as its next resistance levels against the euro and the greenback, respectively.

The loonie firmed to an 8-1/2-month high of 0.9257 against the aussie, from a prior low of 0.9292. The loonie may face resistance near the 0.90 level.

The loonie recovered to 89.78 against the yen, from a low of 89.59 seen at 5 pm ET. The loonie is likely to find resistance around the 92 level.

Looking ahead, U.S. jobs data for June, U.S. and Canadian trade data, Canada building permits and U.S. factory orders, all for May, will be released in the New York session.