Investing.com - The Canadian dollar fell to the lowest level in three weeks against the U.S. dollar on Monday as a huge wildfire in Alberta and a weak domestic jobs report on Friday weighed on the economic outlook.
USD/CAD hit highs of 1.2984, the most since April 18 and was last at 1.2978, up 0.55% for the day.
The loonie remained under pressure as the wildfire blazing through Canada's oil sands region in northeast Alberta since last Sunday continued.
Economists say the disruption to production in the oil-rich province could bring Canadian economic growth to a standstill in the second quarter.
The Canadian dollar had already weakened after data on Friday showing that the county’s labor market stalled in April.
Statistics Canada reported that the economy unexpectedly lost 2,100 jobs last month as Alberta shed more jobs in its natural resources sector due to lower commodity prices.
Data on Monday showed that Canadian housing starts fell more than expected in April.
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp said the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts fell to 191,512 units in April from a downwardly revised 202,375 units in March.
Demand for the greenback continued to be underpinned after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said Friday that it was reasonable to expect two rate hikes this year, despite data showing that U.S. jobs growth increased at the slowest rate in seven months in April.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.28% to 94.08, off Friday’s lows of 93.08.