USD/CAD rebounds on Thursday after briefly slipping below the key 1.4000 support level, as the US Dollar (USD) snaps a two-day losing streak with traders repositioning ahead of Friday’s employment reports from the United States (US) and Canada.
At the time of writing, the pair trades around 1.4025, up about 0.10% on the day
The US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report is expected to show that the economy added 80K jobs in July, up from 57K in June, while the Unemployment Rate is forecast to hold at 4.2%. The NFP report follows back-to-back softer US labour-market releases earlier this week, including the ADP Employment Change and JOLTS Job Openings data. However, figures released on Thursday showed Initial Jobless Claims rising only slightly to 199K from 198K and coming in below the 202K forecast.
In Canada, employment is projected to rise by 15K following an 18.2K increase in June, with the Unemployment Rate expected to remain unchanged at 6.5%. In the meantime, tensions in the Middle East keep broader market sentiment fragile. Iran and Oman are close to finalizing an agreement that would establish a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, but no final deal has been announced.