Canadian Dollar Rallies After Robust Canada Jobs Data

The Canadian dollar spiked higher against its major counterparts in the New York session on Friday, as Canada job growth beat forecasts in March and the jobless rate fell the most since February 2020.

Data from Statistics Canada showed that Canadian economy added much more jobs than expected in the month of March.

Employment increased by 303,100 jobs in March, after a rise of 259,200 jobs in the previous month.

Economists had expected employment to increase by about 101,500 jobs.

The unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent in March from 8.2 percent in February. The unemployment rate was expected to fall to 8.0 percent. It also marked the lowest level since February 2020.

Oil prices fell slightly as investors weighed rising supplies from major producers and the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns on fuel demand.

The loonie firmed to a 3-day high of 87.58 against the yen, after falling to 86.76 at 2:45 am ET. The loonie is seen finding resistance around the 88.00 mark.

The loonie approached a 3-day high of 1.2541 against the greenback, up from yesterday's close of 1.2560. Next key resistance for the loonie is likely seen around the 1.21 level.

The loonie jumped to a 3-day high of 1.4895 against the euro, after a 2-day drop to 1.4999 at 3:00 am ET. Immediate resistance for the currency is likely located around the 1.47 level.

Data from Destatis showed that German industrial production decreased unexpectedly in February.

Industrial output dropped 1.6 percent month-on-month in February, while economists had forecast an increase of 1.5 percent. Production had decreased 2 percent in January.

Extending the previous session's rally, the loonie reached a 3-day high of 0.9555 against the Aussie. The pair had closed yesterday's deals at 0.9611. If the currency rises further, 0.94 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

The latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed that Australia's services sector continued to expand in March, and at a faster rate, with a seasonally adjusted Performance of Services Index score of 58.7.

That's up from 55.8 in February and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. It also marked the highest reading for the index since June 2018.