Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, easing off a three-month trough as upbeat U.S. jobs data boosted demand for the greenback, although rising oil prices and a positive Canadian trade report also lent support to the local currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.3455 during early U.S. trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3417, adding 0.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3366, Thursday’s low and a three-month low and resistance at 1.3553, the high of March 1.
The Labor Department said that the U.S. economy added 242.000 jobs in February, exceeding expectations for a 190.000 rise. The U.S. added 172.000 jobs in January, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 151.000 gain.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9% last month, in line with expectations.
The report also showed that U.S. average hourly earnings fell 0.1% in February, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% rise, after an increase of 0.5% the previous month.
Data also showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to $45.68 billion in January from $44.70 billion in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of $43.40 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to hit $44.00 billion in January.
At the same time, Statistics Canada reported that the trade deficit narrowed to C$0.66 billion in January from C$0.63 billion in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of C$0.59 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to C$1.05 billion in January.
The commodity-related Canadian dollar also found some support as oil prices rose above $35 a barrel.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD adding 0.19% to 1.4715.