A Canadian dollar coin, commonly known as the “Loonie”, is pictured in this illustration picture taken in Toronto, January 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
TORONTO, Oct 6 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar rallied against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, clawing back some of its weekly decline, as stronger-than-expected domestic jobs data boosted expectations for further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada.
The loonie was trading 0.4% higher at 1.3650 to the greenback, or 73.26 U.S. cents, extending its recovery from a six-month low at 1.3785 the day before.
For the week, it was down 0.5% as a spike in bond yields rattled investors globally.
Canada’s economy more than tripled expectations by adding 63,800 jobs in September and wages continued to soar, data showed, upping the chances for another rate hike.
“With today’s report, higher for longer (interest rates) from the Bank of Canada looks reasonable,” said Michael Greenberg, a portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions.
Money markets see a roughly 40% chance of a tightening at the BoC’s next policy announcement on Oct. 25, up from 28% before the data.
U.S. job growth also surged in September but the greenback (.DXY) was unable to sustain its earlier gains against a basket of major currencies.
Analysts are sticking to their bullish forecasts on the Canadian dollar for the coming year, maintaining that the currency is undervalued and could benefit from Canada’s close economic ties with the United States, a Reuters poll found.
The price of oil, one of Canada’s major currencies, settled 0.6% higher at $82.79 a barrel, recouping some recent losses, while Canadian government bond yields moved higher across much of the curve.
The 10-year was up 2 basis points at 4.155%, but stopping short of the 16-year high it touched on Tuesday at 4.292%.
Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Sandra Maler
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