The Canadian dollar fell against the greenback on Thursday as a surprising second consecutive month of domestic job losses all but solidified expectations for an interest rate cut next week.
Domestic bond prices were mixed as news that US weekly jobless claims dropped sharply erased earlier strength that followed the Canadian employment report.
The Canadian dollar finished at C$1.3268 to the US dollar, or 75.37 US cents, down sharply from C$1.3096, or 76.36 US cents, at Wednesday's close. The currency fell as low as C$1.33 during the day. The Canadian economy defied forecasts and lost 13,300 jobs in March, on top of 21,200 lost in February. The unemployment rate edged up to 7.5 percent, from 7.4 percent in February.
The two-year bond rose 7 Canadian cents to C$100.86 to yield 2.582 percent, while the 10-year bond fell 6 Canadian cents to C$105.53 to yield 4.503 percent. The yield spread between the two-year and 10-year bond moved to 192.1 basis points from 187.7 at the previous close.
The 30-year bond, due 2029, declined 10 Canadian cents to C$108.20 to yield 5.163 percent. In the United States, the 30-year treasury yielded 5.026 percent. The three-month when-issued T-bill yielded 1.96 percent, down from 2 percent at the previous close.