By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, September 6 – The Canadian dollar was up over a cent
against its US counterpart at midday Friday, underpinned by favourable
Canadian jobs data, industry watchers said.
Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 59,200 jobs in
August, which was significantly higher than the 20,000 job increase
that economists were expecting. Canada’s jobless rate also lowered to
7.1% from 7.2% in July, analysts said.
Weakness in US non-farm payroll data added to the Canadian
dollar’s strength. According to the US Department of Labour, non-farm
payrolls increased by 169,000 in August, which was weaker-than-
expected, economists said.
At 11:39 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was trading at US$0.9621
or US$1.0393, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of
US$0.9518, or US$=$1.0506.
Gains seen in commodities, including gold, copper and crude oil,
added to the loonie’s bullish tone.
At 11:37 CDT Friday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was down 42.32
points to sit at 12,798.74.
