- Investors await the release of US nonfarm payroll data.
- Canadian employment data will come out on Friday.
- In August, Canada achieved a trade surplus of C$718 million.
Friday’s USD/CAD outlook is bearish as the Canadian dollar held strong while the US dollar weakened ahead of the nonfarm payrolls. Investors are keen to see if the data will lead to adjustments in the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance on interest rates.
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On Thursday, the Canadian dollar gained strength against the US dollar, recovering from a six-month low earlier in the day. This improvement was driven by two consecutive days of stability in bond yields. Moreover, data showed Canada’s trade balance shifted to a surplus in August. Still, the currency has weakened recently amid dollar strength.
Rahim Madhavji, the president at Knightsbridge Foreign Exchange, attributed the recent underperformance of the Canadian dollar to a big drop in oil prices and the overall strength of the US dollar.
Meanwhile, Canadian employment data will come out on Friday. Notably, Thursday’s data revealed that Canada achieved a trade surplus of C$718 million ($521.88 million) in August. This surplus came due to robust export growth following a month of labor strikes that had disrupted West Coast ports.
At the same time, analysts maintain optimistic forecasts for the Canadian dollar in the coming year. They consider it undervalued and likely to benefit from Canada’s strong economic ties with the United States.
Meanwhile, the price of oil, a key Canadian export, continued to decline, following a sharp drop in the previous session. US crude oil futures settled at $82.31 per barrel, marking a 2.3% decrease.
USD/CAD key events today
The major event today will be the release of employment data from the US, including the following components:
- Average hourly earnings.
- Nonfarm payrolls.
- Unemployment rate.