Investing.com - The U.S. dollar gained ground against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, re-approaching an 11-year high as data showing that less jobs than expected were created in the U.S. last month failed to crush expectations for a September rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
USD/CAD hit 1.3183 during early U.S. trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3176, gaining 0.50%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3057, the session low and resistance at 1.3214, the high of August 5 and an 11-year high.
The Labor Departments reported on Friday that the U.S. economy added 215,000 jobs last month, below expectations for an increase of 223,000. The report showed that 231,000 jobs were created in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 223,000 gain.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.3% in July, in line with expectations.
Data also showed that U.S. average hourly earnings rose 0.2% last month, in line with expectations, after a flat reading in June.
At the same time, data showed that Canada's economy added 6,600 jobs in July, compared to expectations for an increase of 5.000, after a 6,400 decline the previous month.
Canada's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.8% last month, in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that Canada's building permits increased by 14.8% in June, beating expectations for a 5.0% rise. Building permits dropped 13.9% in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 14.5% decline.
The loonie was steady against the euro, with EUR/CAD at 1.4322.