Loonie loses ground after jobs data
The Canadian dollar fell against most major rivals on Friday following mixed jobs data.
Canada's jobless rate held steady at 6.6% in February, beating estimates of a rise to 6.7%.
Canada's economy added 1.1 thousand new jobs in February, below estimates of 19.7 thousand, and down from 76.0 thousand in the previous reading.
On trading, the Canadian dollar fell 0.5% as of 20:44 GMT to 0.6958.
Aussie
The Australian dollar fell 0.4% as of 20:44 GMT against the US counterpart to 0.6310.
US Dollar
The dollar index fell 0.2% as of 20:23 GMT to 103.8, with a session-high at 104.2, and a low at 103.8.
US unemployment rose to 4.1% in February from 4.0% in January, missing estimates of 4.1%.
US average wages rose 0.3% in February as expected, slowing down from 0.5% in the previous reading.
The US economy added 151 thousand new jobs in February, below estimates of 159 thousand, but still up from 125 thousand in the previous reading.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech at the Chicago University that the Fed will wait to see the impact of President Donald Trump on the US economy before taking further monetary policy measures.
Powell asserted the need for patience as global uncertainty surges due to spiking trade protectionism.
He said that US consumer spending could slow down in the first quarter of the year after a strong performance late last year, amid ongoing uncertainty.
However, Powell believes the US economy is in a good position due to the strong labor sector, with the latest payrolls report indicating the resilience of the labor market.
Gold declines but still marks weekly gains
Gold prices fell on Friday even as the dollar fell against most major rivals, but the precious metal is still heading for weekly gains.
US unemployment rose to 4.1% in February from 4.0% in January, missing estimates of 4.1%.
US average wages rose 0.3% in February as expected, slowing down from 0.5% in the previous reading.
The US economy added 151 thousand new jobs in February, below estimates of 159 thousand, but still up from 125 thousand in the previous reading.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech at the Chicago University that the Fed will wait to see the impact of President Donald Trump on the US economy before taking further monetary policy measures.
Powell asserted the need for patience as global uncertainty surges due to spiking trade protectionism.
He said that US consumer spending could slow down in the first quarter of the year after a strong performance late last year, amid ongoing uncertainty.
However, Powell believes the US economy is in a good position due to the strong labor sector, with the latest payrolls report indicating the resilience of the labor market.
Otherwise, the dollar index fell 0.2% as of 20:23 GMT to 103.8, with a session-high at 104.2, and a low at 103.8.
On trading, gold spot prices fell 0.4% as of 20:24 GMT to $2915.7 an ounce, with a weekly profit of 2.3%.
US stock indices lose ground after labor data
US stock indices fell on Friday after earlier labor data proved disappointing.
US unemployment rose to 4.1% in February from 4.0% in January, missing estimates of 4.1%.
US average wages rose 0.3% in February as expected, slowing down from 0.5% in the previous reading.
The US economy added 151 thousand new jobs in February, below estimates of 159 thousand, but still up from 125 thousand in the previous reading.
On trading, Dow Jones fell 0.2%, or 118 points to 42461 points, while S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 5715 points, as NASDAQ gave up 0.4% to 18,000 points.
