NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar gained modestly against the greenback on Monday, but held on to much of the losses sustained on Friday after data showed a slump in domestic jobs, suggesting that the economy was not as resilient as the Bank of Canada had hoped.
The Canadian job market lost 71,200 net positions in November while the unemployment rate rose to 5.9%, the highest in more than a year, data from Statistics Canada showed. Analysts had forecast a gain of 10,000 jobs.
The Canadian dollar tumbled to 1.3269 to the U.S. dollar, or 75.35 cents U.S, after the jobs report.
It retraced a small portion of these losses to trade at $1.3251, or 75.45 cents on Monday.
The Bank of Canada has talked up the country’s strong employment picture, with Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Timothy Lane saying on Thursday that the labor market, particularly in the service sector, has been underpinning the economy.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz is due to speak on Thursday. The central bank said on Friday that Poloz will step down when his seven-year mandate expires in June, which market players had expected.
Data on Monday also painted a disappointing picture of Canadian housing.
Statistics Canada said that the value of Canadian building permits fell by 1.5% in October from September. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected an increase of 3.0%.
Canadian government bond prices were higher across the maturity curve on Monday, with the two-year price up 2.5 Canadian cents to yield 1.641% and the benchmark 10-year rising 25 Canadian cents to yield 1.552%.