Investing.com - The U.S. dollar dropped against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after the release of strong Canadian employment data and as rising oil prices continued to support to the commodity-related Canadian currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.3072 during early U.S. trade, the lowest since February 7; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3087, down 0.44%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3004, the low of February 6 and resistance at 1.3169, Thursday’s high.
Statistics Canada reported that the number of employed people rose by 48,300 in January, confounding expectations for a 5,000 decline. The number of employed people increased by 46,100 in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 53,700 gain.
The report also showed that Canada’s unemployment rate ticked down to 6.8% last month from 6.9% in December. Analysts had expected an unchanged reading in January.
The Canadian dollar was also helped by climbing oil prices on Friday, thanks to an unexpected draw in U.S. gasoline inventories and despite an increase in crude stockpiles.
However, the greenback was still supported after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would announce the most ambitious tax reform plan since the Reagan era in the next few weeks.
During a meeting with airline CEOs on Thursday, Trump promised a “phenomenal” tax plan, without giving any specific details of the plan.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD retreating 0.84% to 1.3887.