The Canadian dollar is steady in the Monday session. Currently, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3358, down 0.20% on the day. On the release front, Canadian construction numbers were a mix.
On Friday, the U.S. and Canada posted key employment numbers. U.S. nonfarm payrolls came in at 196 thousand, easily beating the estimate of 172 thousand in March. Still, this release is significantly lower than the December and January releases, both of which were above the 300-thousand level. Wage growth dipped to 0.1%, shy of the estimate of 0.3%. In Canada, employment declined by 7.2 thousand in March, after a huge increase of 55.9 thousand in February.
The Canadian economy has been affected by the trade war between the U.S. and China, especially the manufacturing and export sectors. With talks between the two super-economies continuing, there is optimism that China and the U.S. will reach a deal, and that could boost the Canadian dollar. There were reports this week that an agreement is 90% complete, with the remaining issues including enforcement mechanisms and the removal of trade tariffs.
