Canada’s dollar fell from near an eight-month high after a government report showed employers eliminated more jobs in May than economists forecast. The Canadian currency dropped after the economy shed jobs for the sixth time in seven months, pushing the unemployment rate to the highest in 11 years, the report showed. The U.S. Labor Department is due to release jobs data at 8:30 a.m. “The market is focused on the 8:30 a.m. data,” said Jack Spitz, managing director of foreign exchange at National Bank of Canada in Toronto. “This number in isolation should have been negative for the currency.” Canada’s dollar, known as the loonie, weakened 0.7 percent to C$1.1044 per U.S. dollar at 8:14 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.0970 yesterday. It touched C$1.0785 on June 1, the strongest since Oct. 3. The loonie rallied 11 percent against the U.S. dollar this year as prices of commodities including crude oil rose on speculation a revival in the global economy may be near. Raw materials account for more than half of Canada’s export revenue. The Canadian dollar will weaken to C$1.20 against its U.S. counterpart by year-end, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 43 economists. Statistics Canada said the economy lost a net 41,800 jobs after an increase of 35,900 in April. The median forecast of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a reduction of 36,500. The unemployment rate rose to 8.4 percent, the statistics agency said.

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