TORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar was little changed against the greenback on Friday as jobs data for both Canada and the United States fell short of estimates, with the loonie holding near its strongest level in 3-1/2 years and extending a weekly win streak.
Canada lost 207,100 jobs in April as fresh restrictions to contain a variant-driven third wave of COVID-19 weighed on employers, Statistics Canada data showed. Analysts had forecast a decline of 175,000.
In the United States, data for the same month showed employers hiring far fewer workers than expected, likely frustrated by labor shortages.
“You have this unhealthy environment where growth goals are struggling to be met but unfortunately inflation is picking up everywhere,” said Avi Hooper, a senior portfolio manager at Invesco.
Supportive of the loonie, one cause of inflation has been a surge in the prices of some of the commodities that Canada produces.
Copper surged to a record peak on Friday, fueled by speculators and industrial buyers as Western economies recover from the pandemic, while oil settled 0.3% higher at $64.90 a barrel.
“A higher oil price from current levels, we think, will be the catalyst for the next leg of Canadian dollar strength,” Hooper said.
The loonie was nearly unchanged at 1.2145 to the greenback, or 82.34 U.S. cents, having touched its strongest intraday level since September 2017 at 1.2125. For the week, it was up 1.2%, its sixth straight weekly advance.
The currency has been on a tear since the Bank of Canada last month signaled it could begin hiking interest rates in late 2022 and cut the pace of its bond purchases.
Canadian government bond yields fell across the curve. The 5-year touched its lowest since March 5 at 0.841% before bouncing to 0.878%, down 3.8 basis points on the day.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
