A heavy focus on Friday's jobs reports on both sides of the border kept the Canadian dollar fairly range-bound on Thursday, but it rose as sentiment for the US currency remained negative. Bonds followed US Treasuries lower on US rate hike expectations.
At 9:10 am, the currency was at C$1.1807 to the US dollar, or 84.70 US cents, compared with C$1.1837 to the US dollar, or 84.48 US cents, at Wednesday's close.
With no Canadian data on Thursday, and the US weekly jobless claims did little to sway sentiment ahead of Friday's November employment reports from Canada and the United States.
But persistent gloom on the greenback has kept the Canadian dollar afloat despite a brief pullback earlier this week on the back of softer than expected economic growth figures and shifting sentiment on the domestic interest rate outlook.