Investing.com - The U.S. dollar dropped against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after data showed that the U.S. economy added less jobs than expected last month, while the number of employed people in Canada blew past market expectations.
USD/CAD hit 1.3343 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s lowest since April 3; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3364, shedding 0.37%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3298, the low of April 3 and resistance at 1.3452, Thursday’s high.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 98,000 jobs in March, disappointing expectations for a rise of 180,000. The economy created 219,000 jobs in February, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated increase of 235,000.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.5% last month from 4.7% in February, confounding expectations for an unchanged reading.
The report also showed that average hourly earnings rose 0.2% in March, in line with expectations.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the greenback remained vulnerable after the U.S. launched cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria, sparking concerns of an escalation in the Syrian civil war.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he ordered missile strikes against a Syrian airfield from which a deadly chemical weapons attack was launched.
In Canada, official data showed that the number of employed people increased by 19,400 in March, beating expectations for a 5,000 gain and after a 15,300 rise the previous month.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7% last month from 6.6% in February, in line with expectations.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD declining 0.62% to 1.4187.