By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, April 3 – The Canadian dollar finished flat against the US dollar for the second consecutive day on Thursday. Traders continued to be cautious ahead of the release of key Canadian and US employment data on Friday, analysts said.
Expectations call for Canadian employment figures to show 22,500 new jobs were created in March, and that the unemployment remained unchanged at 7 per cent.
The Canadian dollar closed at US$0.9059 or US$1=C$1.1039 on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday’s North American settlement of US$0.9062 or US$1=C$1.1035.
Weakness in gold prices spilled over to weigh on the Canadian dollar, while strength in crude oil was supportive.
Statistics Canada released better than expected Canadian trade data on Thursday, but the market didn’t see much reaction to the news, traders said.
Canadian bonds ended mixed on Thursday amid positioning ahead of Friday’s key Canadian and US jobs data, market watchers said.
The two-year bond yielded 1.101% late Thursday, from 1.097% late Wednesday. The 10-year bond yielded 2.545%, from
2.550%. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.
