TORONTO: The Canadian dollar strengthened against its US counterpart on Thursday, adding to its more stable profile this week as investors looked toward Friday’s employment data on both sides of the border.
Confirmation that President Donald Trump is tapping Fed Governor Jerome Powell to succeed Janet Yellen as the new head of the US Federal Reserve also provided some support for the Canadian dollar, which reached its strongest level in a week.
The loonie has fallen more than 6 percent since posting a more than two-year high in September at C$1.2063. Analysts said it has found support around C$1.2900, near the 50 percent retracement of the currency’s rapid appreciation from May to September.
“The move up was over-extended,” said David Bradley, director of foreign exchange trading at Scotiabank, who does not expect the loonie to weaken much further going into Friday’s job numbers for October.
“I think you’d need a really strong US print or a really weak Canadian print to see USD/CAD trade back up to recent highs. It seems like there’s solid offers every time we trade up toward C$1.29,” he said.
On Friday, the loonie hit its weakest in more than three months at C$1.2916, pressured by data which pointed to slower growth in Canada’s economy in the third quarter after a rapid expansion in the first half.
Source: Brecorder.com
