Investing.com - The U.S. dollar climbed against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, helped by the release of strong U.S. employment report, while lower oil prices dampened demand for the commodity-related Canadian currency.
USD/CAD was up 0.76% at 1.2359 by 09:30 a.m. ET (13:30 GMT), the highest since January 30.
The greenback was boosted after the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the economy added 200,000 jobs in January, beating expectations for a 184,000 gain.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1% this month, in line with expectations.
The report also showed that average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in January, as expected.
The greenback was already supported after the Federal Reserve, at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Wednesday, signaled its confidence about inflation and growth in the U.S.
The Fed said that inflation is likely to rise this year, boosting expectations for further interest rate hikes under incoming central bank head Jerome Powell.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar was weighed by a decline in oil prices on Friday, although losses were likely to be attributed to profit-taking on the commodity's most recent gains.
The loonie was lower against the euro, with EUR/CAD up 0.29% at 1.5396.