Canadian Forex Midday: C$ strengthens significantly

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, February 7 – The Canadian dollar was significantly
stronger against its US counterpart at midday Friday, underpinned by
better-than-expected Canadian economic data, industry watchers said.
According to Statistics Canada, the Canadian economy added 29,000
jobs in January, which was above the 20,000 job increase economists
were expecting. The unemployment rate also dropped from 7.2% to 7.0%.
Traders were calling for the unemployment rate to drop to 7.1%.
Weaker-than-expected US jobs data was also supportive of the
loonie, brokers said. The US Department of Labour said 113,000 jobs
were added in January, which was well below expectations of an 189,000
job increase.
Gains seen in commodities, including gold, copper, and crude oil,
added to the bullish tone.
At 11:23 CST Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9074
or US$1.1020, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of
US$0.9033, or US$=$1.1070.
At 11:23 CST Friday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 29.66
points to sit at 13,743.06.