TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Friday and was on track for its biggest weekly advance in four months as domestic data showed a stronger-than-expected jobs gain and the prospect of U.S. stimulus boosted risk appetite.
Canada added 378,200 jobs in September and the unemployment rate fell to 9.0%, handily beating analyst expectations, as children returned to school and the economy continued to reopen from coronavirus shutdowns, Statistics Canada said.
Shares rose globally <.WORLD> as expectations grew of a Democratic victory in U.S. elections next month that could lead a big economic stimulus. Canada sends about 75% of its exports to the United States.
The Canadian dollar
For the week, the loonie was up 1.3%. That would be its biggest advance since early June, helped by a rally in the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, on supply cuts caused by a storm in the Gulf of Mexico and a strike of offshore workers in Norway.
U.S. crude oil futures (CLc1) gave back some of this week's rally on Friday, falling 0.5% to $40.99 a barrel.
Canadian government bond yields were little changed across the curve, with the 10-year yield (CA10YT=RR) steady at 0.623%. On Thursday, the 10-year touched its highest intraday in more than five weeks at 0.639%.
(This story corrects price of oil in sixth paragraph)