Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose to fresh three-week highs against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after the release of downbeat employment reports from the U.S. and Canada, as lower oil prices weighed on the commodity-related Canadian currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.2939 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s highest since April 18; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2917, gaining 0.51%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2692, the low of May 4 and resistance at 1.3014, the high of April 11.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 160.000 jobs in April, disappointing expectations for an increase of 202.000. The number of jobs rose by 208.000 in March, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 215.000 rise.
The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate held at 5.0% last month, in line with expectations.
Average hourly earnings in the U.S. rose by 0.3% in April, in line with expectations and after a revised 0.2% gain the previous month.
The data added to concerns over the U.S. job market after payroll processing firm ADP said on Wednesday that non-farm private employment rose by 156,000 last month, missing expectations for an increase of 196,000.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 29 increased by 17,000 to 274,000, compared to expectations for a 3,000 rise.
Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the number of employed people fell by 2,100 in April, confounding expectations for a rise of 1,000 and after an increase of 40,600 the previous month.
Canada’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.1% last month, beating expectations for an uptick to 7.2%.
But the Canadian dollar was mostly under pressure as oil prices moved lower on Friday, as traders locked in profits following crude’s recent rally due to ongoing wildfires in Canada which continue to threaten local oil sands production.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD advancing 0.72% to 1.4765.