The USD/CAD pair extends its upside to near 1.4240 during North American trading hours on Friday. The Loonie pair strengthens as the Canadian Dollar (CAD) falls further after the release of the downbeat employment data for March.
The table below shows the percentage change of Canadian Dollar (CAD) against listed major currencies today. Canadian Dollar was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.
USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
USD | 0.50% | 1.09% | -0.26% | 0.95% | 4.01% | 2.90% | -0.67% | |
EUR | -0.50% | 0.64% | -0.72% | 0.50% | 3.50% | 2.42% | -1.11% | |
GBP | -1.09% | -0.64% | -1.34% | -0.14% | 2.86% | 1.79% | -1.75% | |
JPY | 0.26% | 0.72% | 1.34% | 1.22% | 4.26% | 3.09% | -0.41% | |
CAD | -0.95% | -0.50% | 0.14% | -1.22% | 2.97% | 1.89% | -1.61% | |
AUD | -4.01% | -3.50% | -2.86% | -4.26% | -2.97% | -1.05% | -4.49% | |
NZD | -2.90% | -2.42% | -1.79% | -3.09% | -1.89% | 1.05% | -3.47% | |
CHF | 0.67% | 1.11% | 1.75% | 0.41% | 1.61% | 4.49% | 3.47% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Canadian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent CAD (base)/USD (quote).
It seems that Canadian firms started becoming cautious on the business outlook ahead of the reciprocal tariff announcement by United States (US) President Donald Trump and adjusted their staff members. Statistics Canada has unexpectedly reported a reduction in the labor force by 32.6K workers, while economists expected business owners to have hired 12K new job-seekers. The Unemployment Rate accelerated to 6.7%, as expected, against 6.6% in February.
Average Hourly Wages, a key measure of wage growth, grew by 3.5% year-on-year, slower than the prior release of 4%. Easing wage growth and lay-offs pave the way for more interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada (BoC).
Investors should brace for further deterioration in Canada’s labor market conditions as Trump's tariffs are expected to lead to economic shockwaves across the globe.
Meanwhile, the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for March beat estimates by a wide margin. US firms hired 228K fresh workers, significantly higher than estimates of 135K and the former reading of 117K. However, the Unemployment Rate accelerated to 4.2% against estimates and the prior release of 4.1%.
Average Hourly Earnings rose moderately by 3.8% year-on-year compared to expectations of 3.9% and the former reading of 4%.