The Canadian Dollar (CAD) strengthens against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday as a stronger-than-expected Labour Force Survey boosts sentiment around the Loonie. At the time of writing, USD/CAD is trading near 1.3889, slipping to its lowest level since September 25 as traders respond to Canada’s upbeat employment figures.
Statistics Canada reported that the economy added 53.6K jobs in November, sharply beating expectations for a modest 5K decline. This follows a strong 66.6K increase in October, marking a third consecutive month of job creation.
The Unemployment Rate unexpectedly fell to 6.5% in November from 6.9%, beating market expectations for a rise to around 7.0% and marking the largest monthly improvement since late 2021.
Wage growth also held steady, with average hourly earnings rising 4.0% YoY, matching the pace recorded at the same time last year. Meanwhile, the participation rate slipped to 65.1% from 65.3%.
The data reinforced expectations that the Bank of Canada (BoC) will keep interest rates unchanged at its upcoming policy meeting on December 10. In its October decision, the BoC cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% and signaled that this move could mark the end of the easing cycle, noting that the current stance is “about right” for the economy.
A fresh Reuters poll published earlier in the day showed unanimous expectations among 33 economists that the BoC will keep its policy rate at 2.25% next week. A majority, 18 of 29, also projected that interest rates will remain unchanged at least until 2027.
In the United States, attention now turns to a busy round of economic releases due later in the day, including Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), Personal Income, Personal Spending, and the preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment readings and inflation expectations.
Together, these indicators will help shape expectations for the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy path, with investors still largely convinced that the Fed is on track to deliver another interest rate cut at next week’s monetary policy meeting.
Source: https://www.fxstreet.com/news/usd-cad-slides-to-a-two-month-low-after-canadas-jobs-beat-eyes-on-us-pce-202512051425
