USD/CAD softens as jobs data loom, weaker Oil caps Canadian Dollar support
- USD/CAD trades around 1.3650 on Friday, down 0.12% on the day after touching a one-week high.
- Markets remain cautious ahead of the release of US and Canadian employment figures.
- Falling Oil prices continue to limit support for the Canadian Dollar despite improving market sentiment.
USD/CAD edges lower on Friday and trades around 1.3650 at the time of writing, snapping a two-day winning streak. However, the downside remains limited as investors prefer to stay cautious ahead of the release of the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report and Canadian employment data later in the day.
Market sentiment improved after signs of easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Separate statements from Israel and Iran suggested that hostilities have temporarily subsided, while US President Donald Trump stated that the ceasefire between the United States (US) and Iran remains in place. This backdrop slightly reduces demand for safe-haven assets and weighs on the US Dollar (USD).
However, lower Oil prices continue to limit losses in the pair. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil gives back part of its recent gains as concerns over supply disruptions ease. The decline in Crude prices undermines the Canadian Dollar (CAD), as the Canadian currency remains closely tied to the country’s energy exports.
Attention now turns to employment figures on both sides of the border. In the US, the NFP report is expected to show that 62K jobs were added in April after 178K in the previous month, while the Unemployment Rate is projected to remain steady at 4.3%.
In Canada, economists expect employment to rise by 15K jobs in April following a 14.1K increase in March. The Unemployment Rate is also expected to remain unchanged at 6.7%.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Canadian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.37% | -0.45% | -0.19% | -0.13% | -0.39% | -0.46% | -0.34% | |
| EUR | 0.37% | -0.10% | 0.18% | 0.24% | -0.02% | -0.02% | 0.05% | |
| GBP | 0.45% | 0.10% | 0.28% | 0.33% | 0.07% | 0.07% | 0.14% | |
| JPY | 0.19% | -0.18% | -0.28% | 0.06% | -0.22% | -0.27% | -0.16% | |
| CAD | 0.13% | -0.24% | -0.33% | -0.06% | -0.29% | -0.32% | -0.24% | |
| AUD | 0.39% | 0.02% | -0.07% | 0.22% | 0.29% | -0.03% | 0.06% | |
| NZD | 0.46% | 0.02% | -0.07% | 0.27% | 0.32% | 0.03% | 0.10% | |
| CHF | 0.34% | -0.05% | -0.14% | 0.16% | 0.24% | -0.06% | -0.10% |
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 US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
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