The USD/CAD pair slipped about 0.12% to trade near 1.4030 in Monday’s Asian session, as the Canadian dollar broadly outpaced most of its G10 peers (excluding the antipodeans) following upbeat October labour market data.
Canadian Dollar Today
– Canada’s loonie was the strongest performer against the Japanese yen and one of the top gainers versus other major currencies.
Key Canada Jobs Data
– Statistics Canada reported a surprise addition of 66,600 jobs in October, against expectations for a 2,500 decline.
– September’s gain was revised up slightly to 60,400.
– The unemployment rate fell to 6.9% from 7.1%, marking its lowest level since July 2021.
– A tighter jobs market is likely to reassure Bank of Canada officials and dampen bets on further near-term rate cuts.
US Dollar Calm on Shutdown Hopes
– Meanwhile, the US dollar remained relatively stable as investors grew more optimistic that the historic 40-day government shutdown could soon end.
– Reuters reports senators plan to vote on combining a short-term funding extension (through January 2026) with three full-year appropriations bills.
– Restoring federal pay and resuming delayed transfers to states should help lift US consumer morale, which sank to 50.3 in November’s University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index—its weakest reading in three-and-a-half years (consensus: 53.2; prior: 53.6).
