WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar started Friday on a high note after the release of encouraging employment data from Statistics Canada.
As of 8:34 a.m. CST, the loonie was at US$0.7868 or US$1=C$1.2710, compared to Thursday’s close of US$0.7849 or US$1=C$1.2741. Statistics Canada reported on Friday that 55,000 jobs were added to the country’s workforce in December with the unemployment rate dropping to 5.9 per cent, the lowest level since Feb. 2020. However, the data pre-dates most shutdowns due to the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
The United States Dollar Index dropped 0.28 of a point to 96.04. The U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday that 199,000 non-farm payrolls were added in December, half of what was expected, and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 per cent.
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Benchmark crude oil prices made slight gains on Friday. Brent crude oil gained US$0.17 per barrel to US$82.16. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) added three cents to US$79.49/barrel. Meanwhile, Western Canadian Select (WCS) lost US$0.60 to US$66.89/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index was flat, with a gain of 8.87 points to 21,081.07.
Gold gained US$2.90 per ounce to US$1,792.10.
