Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose to one-and-a-half week highs against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, boosted by the release of strong U.S. employment data, while disappointing economic reports from Canada weighed on demand for the local currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.2595 during early U.S. trade, the pair's highest since February 24; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2608, advancing 0.97%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2404, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.2664, the high of February 24.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the economy added 295,000 jobs last month, beating expectations for an increase of 240,000. January's figure was revised to a 239,000 gain from a previously estimated 257,000 increase.
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a six-and-a-half year low of 5.5% in February from 5.7% the previous month, compared to expectations for a downtick to 5.6%.
U.S. average hourly earnings rose 0.1% in February, the report added, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% gain, after an increase of 0.5% in January.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $41.80 billion in January from $45.60 billion in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of $46.60 billion. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to $41.70 billion in January.
Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reported that the trade deficit widened to C$2.45 billion in January from C$1.22 billion in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of C$0.65 billion. Analysts had expected the trade balance to swing into a surplus of C$0.30 billion in January.
Data also showed that building permits in Canada dropped 12.9% in January after a downwardly revised 6.1% rise the previous month. Analysts had expected building permits to increase by 5.5% in January.
The loonie was higher against the euro, with EUR/CAD declining 0.46% to 1.3709.