Investing.com - The U.S. dollar moved higher against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after the release of strong U.S. employment data lent support to the greenback and declining oil prices weighed on the commodity-related Canadian currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.3135 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s highest since March 29; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3097, gaining 0.72%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2857, Thursday’s low and a five-month low and resistance at 1.3216, the high of March 29.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 215.000 jobs in March, exceeding expectations for an increase of 205.000. The number of jobs created increased by 245.000 in February, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of 242.000.
The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 5.0% this month from 4.9% in February. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged in March.
The report also showed that U.S. average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in March, exceeding expectations for an uptick of 0.2%, after a 0.1% fall the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar weakened as oil prices continued to decline amid supply glut concerns.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD advancing 0.76% to 1.4908.