Canada’s currency strengthened to the highest level since November after a government report showed employers unexpectedly added jobs last month, intensifying speculation the worst of the recession may be over. “It’s a shockingly good number,” said Steve Butler, director of foreign-exchange trading in Toronto at Scotia Capital Inc., a unit of Canada’s third-largest bank. “The reaction has been muted so far. We may need to see the nonfarm number first,” he added, referring to today’s U.S. jobs report. The Canadian dollar appreciated 0.8 percent to C$1.1607 per U.S. dollar at 8:00 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.1699 yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys 86.15 U.S. cents. The currency touched C$1.1582, the strongest level since Nov. 5. The unemployment rate held at 8 percent as employers added a net 35,900 workers in April after a reduction of 61,300 in the previous month, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists predicted employment would fall by 50,000, according to the median of 24 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The loonie, which rallied before today’s report on speculation the data would be better than expected, is poised for its sixth weekly gain, the longest winning streak since November 2007, as investors venture into higher-yielding assets such as stocks and commodity-linked currencies. “Our employment is showing strong resilience,” said Firas Askari, head currency trader in Toronto at BMO Nesbitt Burns, a unit of Bank of Montreal. “The caveat is, don’t read too much into any single number, wait for the trend to clearly show itself. Obviously this is loonie supportive in the short term and I think any U.S. dollar rallies will be sold into.” ‘Highly Unlikely’ Canada’s dollar has gained 6.9 percent since April 23, the day Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said he wouldn’t immediately print money to buy debt assets and spur growth. The policy, known as quantitative easing, is typically seen as diluting a currency. “I’d say credit easing was highly unlikely in Canada anyway, but the better data certainly suggests the bank can rest a little easier as far as its policy stance goes for the moment,” said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist in Toronto at TD Securities Inc., a unit of Canada’s second-largest lender. “For the next few months, it looks like no additional measures from the Bank of Canada.” Canada’s dollar will weaken to C$1.22 against its counterpart by year-end, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 39 economists. U.S. payrolls shed 600,000 jobs in April, compared with 663,000 in the previous month, according to the median forecast of economists in another Bloomberg survey before a Labor Department report due at 8:30 a.m. today in Washington.

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