Canadian Dollar Strengthens as Markets Prepare for Friday’s US NFP Showdown

• The Canadian Dollar (CAD) is holding steady in the latter part of the trading week.
• Canada will release figures on unemployment and wages on Friday.
• Friday’s US NFP will have a big impact on the market.

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) is not seeing much movement on Thursday as all eyes are on Friday’s US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) print. Despite positive US data on Thursday, the market is reacting cautiously instead of making any big moves in either direction.

On Friday, Canada will release December’s Unemployment Rate, annualized Average Hourly Wages, and Net Change in Employment numbers, but the focus will be on the US NFP numbers to end the first trading week of 2024. An unexpected surge in ADP US jobs has led to last-minute adjustments to NFP forecasts, creating uncertainty in market reactions. The difference between ADP and NFP headline prints is making forecasting a bit of a guessing game.

Daily market movers: Canadian Dollar holds steady

• The Canadian Dollar is mostly unchanged against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday.
• The CAD has seen a slight decrease against the Euro (EUR) and Pound Sterling (GBP).
• On the positive side, the Canadian Dollar has gained against the Aussie (AUD) and the Kiwi (NZD) and has seen a significant increase against the Yen (JPY).
• US ADP Employment Change has shown a net addition of 164K jobs in December, surpassing expectations and encouraging investors to adjust their NFP forecasts.
• US Initial Jobless Claims also beat expectations, declining to 202K, adding to the positive sentiment in the market.
• The Canadian Unemployment Rate is expected to see a slight increase in December, and Average Hourly Wages have shown 5% growth.
• Canadian Employment Change in December is expected to show 13.5K net new jobs.

Canadian Dollar price today

The table below shows the percentage change of Canadian Dollar (CAD) against listed major currencies today. Canadian Dollar was the strongest against the Japanese Yen.