The USD/CAD price is on track for the sixth consecutive week in the red after the weak jobs numbers from the United States and Canada. The pair dropped to 1.2146, which was the lowest level since November 11 2017.
Canada and US jobs numbers
The Canadian economy has had a relatively strong recovery, helped by the surging crude oil prices, ongoing vaccinations, and its proximity with the United States.
However, the labour market remains shaky, according to the latest data by Statistics Canada. According to the statistics bureau, the country lost more than 207,000 jobs in April after adding more than 303k in March. This decline was worse than the expected 175k. In the same period, the unemployment rate rose from 7.5% to 8.1% while the participation rate declined to 64.9%.
This trend will likely change in the coming months as the Canadian government increases its vaccination process. It has already vaccinated more than 15 million people. Additionally, the strength of the United States economy will also have a positive impact on the country’s economy. For example, the upcoming infrastructure project is expected to lead to more Canadian imports.
The USD/CAD is also reacting to the latest US jobs numbers. According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the US non-farm payrolls rose by more than 266,000 after rising by more than 900k in the previous month. The unemployment rate also rose to 6.1% while the participation rate also rose.
The USD/CAD fell mostly because of the divergence between the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada (BOC). The BOC has already started tightening monetary conditions while the Fed has insisted that the easy-money policies will continue.
