Canadian dollar stays on track for best week since June

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart on Friday but stayed on course for its biggest weekly advance since June, as the greenback broadly fell and domestic data showed the economy added further jobs in October.

The Canadian dollar was trading 0.2% lower at 1.3067 to the greenback, or 76.53 US cents, pulling back from its strongest intraday level in more than two months on Thursday at 1.3024. For the week, it was on track to gain 1.9%.

The US dollar fell against a basket of major currencies as investors bet that a divided US Congress would hinder government borrowing and potentially pave the way for even more Federal Reserve stimulus.

Statistics Canada reported 83,600 new jobs in October. That was fewer than expected as coronavirus-related shutdowns started to bite, but analysts said the gain reflected welcome signs of resilience in the economy.

Investors also digested US jobs data, which showed that employers hired the fewest workers in five months in October. That was the clearest evidence yet that the end of fiscal stimulus and exploding new COVID-19 infections were sapping momentum from the economic recovery.

The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, fell as new lockdowns in Europe to halt surging COVID-19 infections sparked concern about the outlook for demand. US crude prices were down 1.9% at $38.05 a barrel.

Canadian government bond yields were higher across a steeper curve in sympathy with US Treasuries. The 10-year rose 4.9 basis points to 0.663%.