The Canadian dollar retreated from its early highs against its major rivals in European trading on Friday, as the economy unexpectedly shed jobs in February and jobless rate rose to the highest since March 2013.
Data from Statistics Canada showed that the economy lost 2,300 jobs in February as gains in part-time work were offset by losses.
Economists had forecast an addition of 10,000 jobs following decline of 5,700 jobs in January.
The unemployment rate rose by?0.1?percentage points to?7.3 percent, from 7.2 percent in January. Economists were expecting the jobless rate to match the January reading. The February’s rise was the most since March?2013.
The currency strengthened in Asian deals, as the oil prices rebounded following the expansion of the European Central Bank’s stimulus measures to jump start the sluggish euro zone economy.
The loonie slipped to 1.4807 against the euro, following an advance to 1.4669 at 5:55 am ET. The loonie is likely to find support around the 1.50 mark.
Final data from Destatis showed that Germany’s consumer prices remained unchanged in February from a year ago as initially estimated.
The consumer price index was unchanged after rising 0.5 percent in January and 0.3 percent in December.
Resuming early slide, the loonie declined to a 2-day low of 0.9998 against the aussie from Thursday’s closing value of 0.9945. The next possible resistance for the loonie is seen around the 1.02 level.
The loonie edged down to 1.3314 against the greenback and 85.29 against the yen, off its early highs of 1.3233 and 86.06,respectively. The loonie is seen finding support around 1.34 against the greenback and 84.00 against the yen.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com