Canadian Dollar churns as risk-off market flows compete with CAD jobs data

• Canadian Dollar climbed on Friday, but Greenback remains popular bid.
• Canada added far more jobs than expected in April.
• US consumer sentiment tumbled, Fedspeak crimping rate cut hopes.

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) surged on Friday after the Canadian economy added five times as many jobs as analysts expected. However, risk-off market sentiment is limiting the CAD’s gains as the Greenback remains a popular destination for investors leery of hawkish Fedspeak and sour US consumer sentiment data.

Canada saw its highest net job gains in April since February of 2023, adding nearly 100K jobs to the Canadian economy, while the unemployment rate remained pinned at 6.1%. On the US side, both consumers and Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers both see inflation sticking around higher and longer than rate-cut-hungry market participants have been hoping for. Risk appetite on Friday is on the wobbly side, limiting gains for the CAD.

Daily digest market movers: Canadian Dollar supported by jobs growth, but markets keep one foot in safe havens

• Canada gained 90.4K net jobs in April, beating the 18K forecast fivefold and erasing previous month’s -2.2K decline.
• Canadian Unemployment Rate held steady at 6.1%, beating market’s expected uptick to 6.2%.
• University of Michigan’s US Consumer Sentiment Index for May declines to 67.4, the sentiment survey’s lowest print in six months.
• UoM 5-year Consumer Inflation Expectations also rose to 3.1% as US consumers expect to be beleaguered by continued price acceleration looking forward.
• Souring consumer sentiment and still-high inflation expectations are hampering market hopes for rate cuts, keeping investors bid into the safe-haven Greenback.
• Fedspeak is doing little to bolster markets as Fed officials talk down odds of rate cuts in 2024.
• Read more:
  • Fed’s Bowman: I don't see rate cuts as warranted this year
  • Fed's Logan: Too early to think about cutting rates

Technical analysis: Canadian Dollar gains ground on Friday, but Greenback close behind

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) saw broad-market gains on Friday, hitting the green against all of its major currency peers. The CAD is up around a third of a percent against the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) and the Japanese Yen (JPY), while gaining around a quarter of a percent against the Australian Dollar (AUD). However, the CAD is close to flat against the US Dollar (USD) and the Pound Sterling (GBP), trading within a tenth of a percent at the time of writing.

USD/CAD tested below 1.3620 after plunging deep into a near-term demand zone before recovering back above 1.3660. The pair remains capped by the 200-hour Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at the 1.3700 handle.

The pair continues to find technical support from the 50-day EMA at 1.3637, but topside momentum remains limited. USD/CAD is beginning to consolidate after pulling back from the last swing high into 1.3850.

USD/CAD hourly chart

USD/CAD daily chart