The Canadian Dollar (CAD) roiled against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday after US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) figures came in mixed, and Canadian employment figures were broadly overshadowed by US data. The CAD is broadly softer on the day, shedding weight against all of its major currency peers.

Canada added more jobs than expected in February, but wage growth slowed slightly while the Unemployment Rate ticked a bit higher. On the US side, a big beat on NFP forecasts was overshadowed by a massive downside revision to January’s jobs figure, leaving market sentiment hamstrung. Next week’s economic calendar is notably light on Canadian releases, and markets will be getting the next update on US inflation when February’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) prints next Tuesday.

Daily digest market movers: Split NFP print leaves markets churning on Friday

• The US NFP for February added 275K new jobs during the month versus the forecast of 200K.
• January’s NFP print saw a steep correction, revised down to 229K from the previous 11-month peak of 353K.
• Annualized Hourly Earnings growth for the year ended February eased to 4.3% versus the expected 4.4%, and the previous print saw a slight downside revision from 4.5%.
• The US Unemployment Rate also rose in February, ticking up to 3.9% compared to the expected steady print at 3.7%.
• Canada added 40.7K jobs in February, over double the forecast of 20K and rising slightly from the previous month’s 37.2K.
• The Canadian Unemployment Rate also ticked higher to 5.8% in February from 5.7%, in-line with expectations.
• Canadian Average Hourly Wages printed at 4.9% YoY, easing back from the previous period’s 5.3%.

Canadian Dollar price today

The table below shows the percentage change of Canadian Dollar (CAD) against listed major currencies today. Canadian Dollar was the strongest against the Euro.

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).

Technical analysis: Canadian Dollar softens on Friday, leaks recent gains against Greenback

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) is broadly softer on Friday heading into the trading week’s close, shedding around eight-tenths of a percent against the Japanese Yen (JPY) and falling about half a percent against the Pound Sterling (GBP). The CAD is also down about a third of a percent against the US Dollar and a fifth of a percent against the Euro (EUR).

The USD/CAD roiled during the US trading session, sending the pair down to 1.3420 before recovering into the 1.3475 region. The Loonie is still sharply down from the week’s highs near 1.3605, but it is recovering toward the midrange as Friday markets take aim at the weekend.

Friday’s post-dip recovery sends USD/CAD back into the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 1.3477. The long-term moving average has flatlined just below the 1.3800 handle for most of 2024, and the pair is set to continue struggling in the near term as it churns within a rough range between 1.3600 and 1.3400.

USD/CAD hourly chart

USD/CAD daily chart