Canadian dollar retreats to new low on jobs data

The Canadian dollar fell to a new low against the US dollar on Friday, but then surged to a three-day high after a strong US Nonfarm Payrolls report crushed market forecasts.

Canada’s labour market added fewer jobs than expected, but persistent wage growth accelerated to a two-year high. US Nonfarm Payrolls added 216K net new jobs in December, compared to the 160K forecast.

However, revisions continue to plague the data, dragging November’s 199K down to 173K and October’s 150K down to 105K. Average Hourly Earnings in the US slightly increased from 4% to 4.1% for the year ended December, while the US Unemployment Rate held steady at 3.7% in December.

The US ISM Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in December missed expectations, printing at a stunted 50.6 versus the forecast decline. On the Canadian side, the Unemployment Rate held flat at 5.8%, snubbing the forecast 5.9%.

Canadian Average Hourly Wages growth surged from 5.0% to 5.7% in December, a two-year high. Canadian Net Change in Employment forecasts missed the mark, with Canada adding a paltry 0.1K new jobs in December.