Canadian jobs data in the spotlight today and so is the USD/CAD

The Canadian monthly jobs report could grab the market limelight this afternoon. That April jobs report is due to be released at 12.30pm GMT and it is expected to show the unemployment rate rising slightly. The forecast is for that to tick up to 6.2%, from 6.1% in March. As usual the split between the number of full and part time jobs will be an important element of this report and the market reaction to it, as will the level of average earnings. Annualised wages are forecast to fall to 4.7% from 5%. Ahead of this data, the USD/CAD has fallen back from where it was this time yesterday. The USD/CAD closed last night at 1.3677, after falling back from an earlier session high at 1.3738. The price action today has been pretty tight and covered by 1.3672 to 1.3691. On this occasion the Canadian jobs report will not clash with the US report, often released simultaneously. So, in respect of that today, it should be more focused exclusively on the reaction in the CAD and not the US dollar too. The USD/CAD is currently trading at 1.3681