USD/CAD slumps to fresh multi-week lows below 1.2500 after dismal US jobs report
- USD/CAD fell sharply with the initial reaction to disappointing US NFP data.
- US Dollar Index holds above 92.00 after immediate drop.
- Focus shifts to August ISM Services PMI data.
After spending the first half of the day moving sideways around 1.2550, the USD/CAD pair came under strong bearish pressure and touched its lowest level since August 11 at 1.2493 before staging a modest rebound. As of writing, the pair was down 0.2% on the day at 1.2525.
Eyes on ISM Services PMI after jobs report
The data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed on Friday that Nonfarm Payrolls in the US increased by 235,000 in August. This reading missed the market expectation of 750,000 by a wide margin and triggered a USD selloff. With the initial reaction, the US Dollar Index dropped below 92.00 for the first time in a month but managed to turn flat on the day near 92.20.
On a positive note, the Unemployment Rate declined to 5.2% from 5.4% with the Labor Force Participation Rate remaining steady at 61.7% during that period.
Later in the session, the ISM's Services PMI report for August will be looked upon for fresh impetus. In the meantime, US stock index futures erased a large portion of their daily gains after the August jobs report, suggesting that the USD could benefit from the cautious market mood in the second half of the day.
Technical levels to watch for