Canadian forex review: C$ eases

By Commodity News Service Canada

WINNIPEG, Dec. 6 – The Canadian dollar eased against the US dollar on Friday. Positive US economic data, which fuelled expectations that the US Federal Reserve will ease of out stimulus programs, contributed to the Canadian dollar’s weakness.

According to the US Department of Labour, the US economy created 203,000 new jobs in November, which was better than the expected 180,000 new jobs.

The Canadian currency was quoted at US$0.9384 or US$1=C$1.0656 at the close on Friday, which compares with Thursday’s North American settlement of US$0.9398 or US$=C$1.0641.

Spillover pressure from the weakness in gold, one of Canada’s biggest exports, further undermined the loonie, traders said.

However, the downside was limited by positive Canadian employment data. Statistics Canada reported that 21,600 new jobs were created in November, beating expectations of 12,000.

Canadian bonds were slightly lower, with downward pressure coming from the positive employment data from both Canada and the US, analysts said.

The two-year bond yielded 1.094% late Friday, from 1.087% late Thursday. The 10-year bond yielded 2.668%, from 2.673%. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.