WINNIPEG – A negative jobs report from Statistics Canada prefaced a lower start for the Canadian dollar on Friday.
As of 8:39 a.m. CST, the loonie was at US$0.7827 or US$1=C$1.2776, compared to US$0.7887 or US$1=C$1.2679 on Thursday. Canada’s central data agency reported that 200,100 jobs were lost in January due to the Omicron COVID-19 variant, nearly doubling analysts’ estimates. The unemployment rate also rose 0.5 percentage points to 6.5 per cent.
The United States Dollar Index was up 0.20 points at 95.57. The U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday that non-farm payrolls increased 510,000 in December, exceeding a previous estimate, and 467,000 in January.
Benchmark crude oil prices continue to rise sharply into the weekend. Brent crude oil rose US$1.67 per barrel at US$92.78. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also jumped US$1.99 to US$92.26/barrel. Western Canadian Select (WCS) surged US$1.84 to US$78.33/barrel.
The TSX/S&P Composite Index added 170.11 points to 21,264.12.
Gold declined US$1.70 per ounce to US$1,802.40.
