The Canadian dollar finally got a little boost on Friday, bouncing back after a rough week. The loonie inched up 0.1%, trading around $1.40 per U.S. dollar (that’s about 71.4 cents U.S.), thanks to some surprisingly strong job numbers.
Canada added 60,400 jobs in September, nearly wiping out the losses from the month before. The unemployment rate stayed put at 7.1%, but economists had only expected a small 5,000-job gain — so this was a pleasant surprise.
Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO, called it a “solid and encouraging report,” hinting that the Bank of Canada might hold off on another rate cut later this month. Before the jobs data dropped, traders were betting there was a 72% chance of a cut on October 29 — now that’s down to about 50%.
Still, the loonie’s lift didn’t go too far. Oil prices — one of Canada’s economic lifelines — slid 4.2% to $58.90 a barrelas optimism grew over a Gaza peace deal. Lower oil tends to weigh on the Canadian dollar, so that gain got capped pretty fast.
Meanwhile, Canadian bond yields eased, and the gap between 10-year Canadian and U.S. bonds narrowed to the smallest level in a month. Markets closed early ahead of Thanksgiving, wrapping up a week that reminded everyone: the loonie’s moves are all about the balance between jobs, oil, and the Bank of Canada’s next big decision.






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