USD/CAD Rises Toward 1.3850 as Canada Sheds 41.7K Jobs

USD/CAD accelerates sharply higher on Friday, trading around 1.3850 at the time of writing, up 0.39% on the day. The pair gains nearly 80 pips following the simultaneous release of US and Canada employment reports. That is the Friday 4 September 2026 stamp. The same page also prints the pair at 1.3852 — both page stamps are quoted and are not averaged. The morning USD/CAD brace below 1.3800 stays the pre-print sibling.

Hot US payrolls. Soft Canada jobs.

US Nonfarm Payrolls increased by 162K in August, significantly exceeding market expectations for a 56K increase on that page — the same print on our live NFP PRINT. Primary consensus consensus for the same Non-Farm slot was +55K; both consensus stamps are quoted separately and are not averaged. July’s figure was upgraded to a 21K increase from a previously reported 23K decline, while June’s payroll gain was revised higher to 31K from 20K. Overall, employment gains in June and July combined were 55K higher than previously reported. The Unemployment Rate remained unchanged at 4.1%. The Labor Force Participation Rate increased to 61.6% from 61.4%. Annual Average Hourly Earnings growth slowed to 3.1% from 3.2% in July.

In contrast, Canada’s employment report offers little support to the loonie. The Canadian economy lost 41.7K jobs in August after creating 75.1K jobs in July, while markets had expected another 15K increase. The Unemployment Rate remained unchanged at 6.4%, as anticipated. Annual Average Hourly Wages growth in Canada slowed sharply to 2% in August from 3% in the previous month. Job losses plus slower Canadian wage growth weigh on the CAD and amplify the USD/CAD rally after the dual releases.

Informational only. Not trading advice, signals, or a guarantee of any market outcome.