Canadian dollar weakens against the greenback

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar gave back some of its weekly advance against the greenback on Friday as a smaller-than-expected domestic jobs gain supported bets for another interest rate cut at an upcoming policy decision by the Bank of Canada.

The loonie was trading 0.5% lower at 1.4360 to the US dollar, or 69.64 US cents, after moving in a range of 1.4280 to 1.4376.

For the week, the currency was on track to gain 0.7% as the US dollar posted broad-based declines and the United States delayed tariffs imposed on Canadian goods.

Canada’s economy added 1,100 jobs in February, falling short of the 20,000 increase that economists estimated, while the unemployment rate held steady at 6.6%. US jobs data also fell short of estimates.