Canadian dollar jumps above 72 cents US on strong jobs report

The Canadian dollar on Friday rose past 72 cents U.S. for the first time since late September. Photo by Shannon VanRaes/Bloomberg files

The Canadian dollar on Friday rose past 72 cents U.S. for the first time since late September after surprise labour numbers further solidified the market’s belief that the Bank of Canada will hold interest rates at its next meeting.

The Canadian economy gained 54,000 positions in November, Statistics Canada said on Friday,

The Canadian dollar jumped 0.83 per cent to 72.23 cents U.S. on Friday afternoon from Thursday’s close of 71.64 cents U.S. in response to the better-than-expected numbers.

“The (Canadian dollar) is rounding out the week on a strong note after another surprisingly robust Canadian jobs report,” Shaun Osborne and Eric Theoret