Investing.com - The U.S. rose to eight-month highs against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after the release of mixed data from both the U.S. and Canada, as lower oil prices continued to dampen demand for the commodity-related Canadian currency.
USD/CAD hit 1.3451 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s highest since March; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3426, gaining 0.22%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3357, Thursday’s low and resistance at 1.3553.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 161,000 jobs in October, disappointing expectations for an increase of 175,000. However, September’s figure was revised up to a 191,000 gain from a previously estimated rise of 156,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.9% last month from 5.0% in September, in line with expectations.
Data also showed that U.S. average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in October, exceeding expectations for an uptick of 0.3%.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $36.44 billion in September from $40.46 billion in October. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to hit $37.80 billion in September.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious amid growing uncertainty over Hillary Clinton’s prospects ahead of the November 8 presidential election, amid fears over the implications of a victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Also Friday, Statistics Canada reported that the number of employed people rose by 43,900 in October, beating expectations for a 10,000 decline, after an increase of 67,200 the previous month.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.0% last month, as expected.
However, Canada’s trade deficit widened to C$4.08 billion in September from C$1.99 billion the previous month, confounding expectations for a deficit of C$1.70 billion.
Separately, the Canadian dollar remained under pressure as oil prices continued to hover at five-week lows on Friday as record high U.S. supply data and doubts over the possibility of a production freeze deal by major oil producers continued to weigh.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD edging up 0.10% to 1.4892.