TORONTO: The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker against the greenback on Friday as investors weighed an underwhelming domestic jobs report against data that showed a solid pace of hiring south of the border.
The Canadian economy created 25,800 jobs last month, largely in line with expectations, but the positions were part-time.
Economists said the details were more disappointing than the overall figure. In contrast, US employment returned to its pre-recession level with 217,000 jobs added in May.
The loonie saw some choppy trading immediately following the reports, swinging in both directions before ultimately pulling slightly lower.
"It's slightly negative just because the US report was a bit better than expected, whereas the details of the Canadian release are a bit disappointing," said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.
"So I would say on balance it's a small strike against the Canadian dollar, but I don't think it's going to change the channel on the currency."
The Canadian dollar was at C$1.0937 to the greenback, or 91.43 US cents, modestly weaker than Thursday's close of C$1.0929, or 91.50 US cents.
"We see the Canadian dollar weaken and the (US) dollar pop higher once we realize some of the details in the US may be a little better," said David Tulk, chief Canada macro strategist at TD Securities.
The loonie has been trading in a slim range in recent weeks and analysts say it will likely be comfortable trading around either side of C$1.10 for some time.
Canadian government bond prices were higher across the maturity curve, with the two-year up 1.8 Canadian cents to yield 1.050 percent and the benchmark 10-year up 26 Canadian cents to yield 2.303 percent.
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