Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose to a one-month peak against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, boosted by the release of strong U.S. employment data, although an equally positive jobs report from Canada also lent support to the local currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.3290 during early U.S. trade, the pair's highest since October 1; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3272, advancing 0.81%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3135, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.3334, the high of October 1.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 271.000 jobs last month, exceeding expectations for a 180.000 rise. The U.S. economy added 137.000 jobs in September, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated increase of 142.000.
The U.S. unemployment rate ticked down to 5.0% in October from 5.1% the previous month. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged last month.
The report also showed that average hourly earnings rose 0.4% last month, more than the expected 0.2% gain, after a flat reading in September.
The strong data added to expectations for the U.S. to raise interest rates after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that a December rate hike is a "live possibility," depending on economic data.
At the same time, Statistics Canada reported that the number of employed people rose by 44.400 in October, beating expectations for a 10.000 gain and after an increase of 12.100 the previous month.
Canada's unemployment rate ticked down to 7.0% last month from 7.1% in September, compared to expectations for an unchanged reading.
A separate report showed that Canada's building permits dropped 6.7% in September, confounding expectations for a 1.3% rise. Building permits declined by 3.6% in August, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 3.7% drop.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD declining 0.54% to 1.4250.