USD/CAD stays in positive territory around 1.2180 after US and Canada jobs reports

• USD/CAD fluctuated wildly in early American session on Friday.
• Nonfarm Payrolls in US rose only by 266K in April.
• Unemployment Rate in Canada rose to 8.1% from 7.5%.

The USD/CAD pair fell to a session low of 1.2150 in the early American session but quickly reversed its direction. As of writing, the pair was up 0.25% on a daily basis at 1.2178.

USD and CAD both lose interest on Friday

The monthly data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Friday that Nonfarm Payrolls in the US increased by 266,000 in April. This reading missed the market expectation of 978,000 by a wide margin and triggered a USD selloff. At the moment, the US Dollar Index is down 0.4% at 90.52.

Commenting on the US jobs report, "even if the pandemic skewed seasonal adjustments, the picture is still far gloomier than earlier estimated," noted FXStreet analyst Yohay Elam. "If the economy was overheating, the shortage in some raw materials and skill mismatches – vacancies are high but those out of work are not a good fit – may explain the slow hiring. Another explanation would be that America is not accelerating as fast as expected."

Despite the broad-based USD weakness, USD/CAD remained relatively resilient as the CAD struggled to find demand after the dismal Canadian labor market report. Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the Unemployment Rate in Canada rose to 8.1% from 7.5% in March with the Net Change in Employment coming in at -207K.

Later in the session, the Ivey PMI data from Canada will be looked upon for fresh impetus.

Technical levels to watch for