- Summary:
- USDCAD plummets below 1.2800 for for the first time in nearly two years after Canada's NFP trumped that of the US very convincingly.
The Loonie came out the big winner in two days double billing of jobs reports from the countries straddling North America’s upper border. An upbeat Canadian Jobs report helped the USDCAD drop below the 1.2800 mark for the first time in 2020.
November’s jobs data from Statistics Canada showed that the Canadian unemployment rate dropped from 8.9% in October to 8.5% in November. Employment change came out better than expected at 62.1K, beating market expectations of 22.0K. On the other hand, the Nonfarm Payrolls in the US rose by 24K and fell far short of the last number (610K) as well as market expectations (480K).
Also helping the Loonie was the rise in crude oil prices, following the agreement by members of the OPEC + alliance to slowly reduce production curbs as opposed to the previous deal that called for a sudden increase of nearly 2 million barrels per day.
Technical Levels to Watch For
The USDCAD is set for its lowest close of 2020 after a 3rd straight week of losses. The pair is now close to testing the 1.27823 support level (1 October 2018 low). This area’s breakdown opens the door towards the 7 May 2018 low of 1.27315, with 1.26021 forming additional support.
On the flip side, a bounce from 1.27823 allows the USDCAD to retest the 1.29241 resistance, with 1.29953 and 1.30385 forming additional targets to the north.
USDCAD Weekly Chart
