USD/CAD jumps to near 1.4380 after US/Canada labor market data

• USD/CAD climbs to near 1.4380 after the release of the US/Canada employment data for February.
• The Canadian Dollar weakens as the economy barely added fresh workers in February.
• US NFP data misses estimates by a slight margin.

The USD/CAD pair gains sharply to near 1.4380 in Friday’s North American session. The Loonie pair attracts significant bids after the release of the labor market data of February of both the United States (US) and Canada.

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) tumbles as Statistics Canada reported that the laborforce barely grew last month. The Canadian economy added 1.1K fresh workers, while economists expected employers to have added 20K job-seekers lower than 76K in January. The Unemployment Rate remains steady at 6.6% against estimates of 6.7%. Average Hourly Wages, a key measure of wage growth, accelerated at a robust pace to 4% from the prior release of 3.7%.

Soft labor market data is expected to boost market expectations that the Bank of Canada (BoC) will cut interest rates again in its monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.

The Canadian Dollar has been underperforming lately as US President Donald Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. He has relaxed tariffs on goods compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) till April 2.

During North American trading hours on Friday, Trump ordered a reduction of the duty rate for non-USMCA-compliant potash to 10% from 25% - Federal Register Notice.

In the US region, Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) came in lower at 151K than estimates of 160K but remained higher than 125K seen in January. The jobless rate accelerated to 4.1% from estimates and the former release of 4%. A slightly lower US NFP than expectations would weigh on market expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will keep interest rates steady for longer.