Loonie Extends Decline After Disappointing Canadian Jobs Data

The Canadian dollar continued to be lower against its major counterparts in European trading on Friday, as the economy unexpectedly shed jobs in January, while jobless rate rose.

Data from Statistics Canada showed that the economy lost 88,000 jobs in January.

This follows an addition of 64,800 jobs in December and contradicts expectations for an increase of 10,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate increased to 5.9 percent from a revised 5.8 percent.

Economists were looking for a rate of 5.8 percent.

Oil prices slipped amid a stronger U.S. dollar and robust U.S. production.

Crude for March delivery dropped $0.72 to $60.43 per barrel.

The loonie showed mixed trading against its major opponents in the Asian session. While it held steady against the greenback, it rose against the yen and the aussie. Against the euro, it dropped.

Continuing early fall, the loonie hit a 4-day low of 0.9902 against the aussie, from more than a 4-week high of 0.9783 hit at 9:00 pm ET. The next likely support for the loonie is seen around the 1.00 level.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia home loans fell a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent on month in December, coming in at 55,161.

That missed forecasts for a decline of 1.0 percent following the 2.1 percent increase in November.

The loonie extended slide to a 3-day low of 1.5559 against the euro, compared to 1.5432 hit late New York Thursday. The next likely downside target for the loonie is seen around the 1.57 level.

The loonie extended drop to a 1-1/2-month low of 1.2682 against the greenback, from an early high of 1.2585. If the loonie falls further, it may find support around the 1.28 mark.

The loonie fell further to 85.80 versus the yen, its lowest since August 2017. This may be compared to a high of 86.77 hit at 3:45 am ET. The pair closed Thursday's deals at 86.28. The loonie is seen finding support around the 84.00 area.

Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that Japan's tertiary activity index decreased unexpectedly at the end of the year, though slightly.

The tertiary activity index dropped 0.2 percent month-over-month in December, reversing a 1.1 percent rise in November. Meanwhile, economists had expected a 0.2 percent increase for the month.