Canada’s main stock index reached another fresh all-time high in Friday trading (26,519.61) as investors digested local employment data alongside US payroll figures. Optimism around trade was also boosted by signs of easing tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump announced a doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports—metals for which Canada is the top supplier to the US.
On Thursday, Canada’s Industry Minister Melanie Joly stated that Prime Minister Mark Carney is in direct talks with President Trump, as part of Canada’s efforts to convince the US to remove the tariffs.
Meanwhile, a much-anticipated phone conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping took place on Thursday. Trump described the call as ending on “a very positive note,” raising hopes that the ongoing trade conflict between the two economic giants could begin to ease.
In economic news, Statistics Canada reported that only 8,000 jobs were added last month, nudging the unemployment rate up by 0.1 percentage point to 7.0 per cent (the highest since 2016). However, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that payrolls climbed 139,000 in May, well above the economists’ forecast of 125,000. This good news helped give some lift to Wall Street after a rough week.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.02 cents US compared to 73.16 cents US on Thursday.
US crude futures traded US$1.38 higher at US$64.76 a barrel, and the Brent contract rose US$1.26 to US$66.50 a barrel.
The price of gold was down US$37.54 to US$3,316.47.
In world markets, the Nikkei was up 187.12 points to ¥37,741.61, the Hang Seng was down 114.43 points to HK$23,792.54 the FTSE was up 26.87 points to ₤8,837.91, and the DAX was down 19.12 points to €24,304.46.
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