Canadian dollar falls amid strong employment gains

Canada's dollar fell against its US counterpart on concern the global economy is slowing, even as a government report showed Canada's jobless rate unexpectedly fell in May to the lowest level since January 2009. The loonie, as the currency is known for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, also dropped as oil, Canada's biggest export, and stocks fell. "Even though the number this morning was a little bit stronger, especially in the full-time component, I don't think it changes what's going on as far as everything else," said David Love, a trader of interest-rate derivatives at Le Groupe Jitney Inc in Montreal. "All our eyes are on the US and what's going on in Europe." The loonie depreciated 0.7 per cent to 97.99 cents versus the US currency in Toronto on Friday from 97.30 cents Thursday. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0205. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 1.4 per cent after adding 0.7 per cent Thursday, its first gain after six consecutive days of losses. Crude oil for July delivery decreased 3 per cent to $98.85 a barrel in New York after rising 1.2 per cent Thursday. "Canada's ties to commodities certainly point to a weaker loonie, despite the stronger employment number," said Dean Popplewell, an analyst at online currency-trading firm Oanda Corp in Toronto. Among its most-traded counterparts, the Canadian dollar fell the most against the yen, dropping 0.8 per cent. The loonie gained against the euro for a third consecutive day, advancing 0.4 per cent to C$1.4059. The loonie strengthened earlier Thursday after a Statistics Canada report showed the nation's unemployment rate fell to 7.4 per cent last month from 7.6 per cent in April. Employers added 22,300 jobs last month after an increase of 58,300 in April. The median forecast of 27 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a gain of 20,000. From / Gulf News