BLBG: Canadian Dollar Rises as September Jobs Growth Exceeds Forecast
Canada’s dollar extended gains against its U.S. counterpart as a report showed jobs growth last month exceeded forecasts and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell.
The loonie, as the currency is nicknamed, strengthened as Canada added 11,900 jobs in September and the unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 10,000 job increase and an unchanged jobless rate at 7.1 percent, according to the median forecasts. The currency has fallen this week as politicians in the U.S., Canada’s biggest trade partner, face a stalemate on agreements to fund the government and raise the nation’s debt limit.
“The data was much better than expected, which has caused a knee jerk reaction of taking the Canadian dollar higher,” said Jack Spitz, managing director of foreign exchange in Toronto at National Bank of Canada, said in a telephone interview. “While the number was strong, the market is still more impacted by what’s going on in Washington than what’s going on in Ottawa, and is still seeking clarity.”
The loonie climbed 0.2 percent to C$1.0377 at 8:33 a.m. in Toronto, paring the weekly loss to 0.9 percent. One Canadian dollar buys 96.37 U.S. cents.
Canada’s jobless rate fell to the lowest in almost five years in September as 21,400 workers aged 15 to 24 left the labor force. Jobs creation slowed to 11,900 in September from 59,200 in August.
Slowing employment growth and signs of discouraged workers come a week after the Bank of Canada cut its economic growth forecast for the rest of the year with Senior Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem citing an “elusive” pickup in exports and investment. Job growth has slowed after domestic spending and employment gains pulled Canada out of a recession triggered by the 2008 global financial crisis.
Full-time employment rose by 23,400 in September and part-time work fell by 11,500 positions. Private companies added 73,600 workers and public-sector employment fell by 16,300.
To contact the reporters on this story: Cordell Eddings in New York at ceddings@bloomberg.net; John Detrixhe in New York at jdetrixhe1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net
