USD/CAD steady after US data string

US dollar traded steadily against its Canadian counterpart, after losing certain ground earlier on Thursday, following the release of positively-toned reports on initial jobless claims, employment change and activity in the sector of services out of the United States.

USD/CAD distanced from its lowest point today at 1.0474, recorded at 12:21 GMT, to trade at 1.0502 at 14:17 GMT, gaining 0.04% for the day.

The private sector in the United States managed to add job positions at a slightly slower rate in August, as US employment increased by 176 000, according to data by Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP). These results were close to the initially estimated (182 000 new jobs) and would probably not influence expectations of the official data on non-farm payrolls in the United States, due out on Friday. ADP’s July result was revised down to 198 000 jobs from 200 000 previously.

Additionally, initial jobless claims in the states dropped by 9 000 to 323 000 during the week ending on August 31st 2013, exceeding expectations of a lesser drop to 330 000. The number of claims during the preceding week was revised up to 332 000 from 331 000 previously.

Also, today the ISM said that its non-manufacturing composite index came in at 58.6 in August up from a reading of 56.0 in July, marking its highest value on record. Preliminary estimates pointed that the index will decrease to a value of 55.0. Readings above the key level of 50.0 are usually considered as an indication that activity in the sector has expanded. The sub-index of new orders advanced to 60.5 in August from 57.7 a month ago, while the sub-index of output climbed to 62.2 from 60.4. The index of employment added 3.8 points to reach 57.0 in August or the highest point since February.

These above mentioned data points could strongly add to the prospects of a possible scale back of Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing at its policy meeting on September 17-18th.

Meanwhile, Canadian dollar advanced against the majority of its 16 most traded peers earlier today, before data shows that Canada snapped two months of jobs losses on Friday. A report will show that Canada added 20 000 job positions in August, according to the median estimate of 22 economists, surveyed by Bloomberg, following the loss of 39 400 jobs, registered during the preceding month. The loonie also strengthened, as crude oil, Canada’s largest export, rose after US legislators took the first step to authorize a military intervention in Syria that could obstruct fuel shipments from the Middle East.

Elsewhere, the Canadian currency was gaining against the euro, as EUR/CAD cross dropped by 0.53% to trade at 1.3793 at 14:32 GMT. GBP/CAD pair was also on negative territory, down by 0.12% to trade at 1.6385 at 14:34 GMT.