By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, April 10 The Canadian dollar was slightly higher relative to the US dollar Friday morning, finding support from better than expected Canadian employment data, analysts said.
According to Statistics Canada, 29,000 new jobs were created in March, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.8 per cent. Pre-report guesses called for jobs to remain steady compared to February.
At 9:04 CDT Friday, the Canadian dollar was at US$0.7949 or US$=C$1.2580, which compares with Thursday’s North American close of US$0.7942 or US$1=C$1.2592.
Sentiment that recent declines were overdone was also supportive, though a softer tone in crude oil values was weighing on the Canadian dollar.
Some traders were also interpreting the Canadian employment report as bearish, as the net gain was due to an increase in part-time jobs, while full time employment declined, brokers added.
The TSX was up 66.04 points, or 0.43%, at 9:04 CDT Friday morning to sit at 15,392.35.
