Canadian Forex Midday: C$ Eases

he Canadian dollar was trading at a fractionally easier level in comparison with an early morning quote and a late North American quote from Thursday afternoon. Disappointing employment numbers in Canada helped to facilitate the pull-back in the value of the Canadian dollar, market watchers said. The decline in the employment figures was larger than expected.

At 12:13 EDT, the Canadian dollar was trading at 92.18 US cents or US$1=C$1.0848. This compares with an early Friday morning level of 92.23 US cents or US$1=C$1.0842 and Thursday's late North American level of 92.77 US cents or US$1=C$1.0779.

Statistics Canada in its labor force survey, said employment in Canada declined by 45,000 in July, with losses in both full- and part-time work. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.6%, as fewer people participated in the labour market.

While most of July's employment losses were in Quebec, there were also losses in Saskatchewan, as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador. Employment was little changed in all other provinces.

The downward trend among private sector employees persisted in July, with large losses for this group partially offset by continued gains in self-employment, the government agency said.

The weakness in the Canadian currency early in the session had been augmented by losses in both global crude oil and gold values, brokers said.

However, crude oil has since turned slightly higher, helping to ease the selling of the Canadian unit. Strength in the North American equity sector has also helped to temper the weakness of the Canadian unit, brokers said.

The Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index (TSX) was trading at a stronger level at midday, up 128.90 points at 10,922.20 at 12:13 EDT.