By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, April 5 The Canadian dollar was lower compared to its US counterpart at 9:02 CDT Friday, undermined by weak Canadian employment data, analysts said.
According to Statistics Canada, the Canadian economy lost 55,000 jobs in March, falling below expectations that the economy would add 6,500 new jobs. The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 7.2%.
At 9:02 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.9784 or US$=C$1.0221, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.9878 or US$=C$1.0123.
Disappointing US employment data also weighed on the Canadian currency. According to the US Labour Department, the US economy added 88,000 new jobs in March, falling below expectations of 190,000 new jobs.
Weak Canadian trade data further undermined the value of the Canadian dollar. According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s trade deficit with the world widened from C$746 million in January to C$1 billion in February. The wider deficit was a direct result of exports decreasing 0.6% in February, and imports increasing by 0.1%
The TSX was down 102.38 points, or 0.83%, at 9:02 CDT Friday morning to sit at 12,260.67.
