TORONTO: The Canadian dollar was little changed against its US counterpart on Friday as domestic data showed jobs rising for a fifth month, with the currency holding near its weakest level in over three weeks that it hit earlier in the session.
The Canadian economy added 31,200 jobs in October, extending a string of gains since June, and the jobless rate slipped to 6.7%, the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic started, Statistics Canada indicated.
The number of jobs added was less than the consensus estimate of 50,000 but analysts were encouraged by some details in the data, including the number of full-time jobs created and an increase in hours worked.
The Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.2456 to the greenback, or 80.28 US cents, after hitting its weakest level since Oct. 12 at 1.2479. For the week, the loonie was on track to decline 0.6%, pressured by a pullback in oil prices.
The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rebounded on Friday after OPEC+ producers rebuffed a US call to raise supply to cool the market, sticking to plans for a gradual increase in output after cuts made in the face of the coronavirus crisis.