US Dollar Strengthens Against The Loonie, Boosted by Strong August Jobs

02:19 PM EDT, 09/04/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar strengthened against its Canadian counterpart Friday afternoon after the August jobs report surprised to the upside ahead of the holiday Labor Day weekend. The US economy added 162,000 jobs last month, the biggest monthly job gain since March, adding to other signs that point to a resilient economy, including "healthy" vehicle sales, said Economist Ksenia Bushmeneva in a TD Economics note. In Canada, a Friday report showed the country lost 42,000 jobs but that longer hours were worked in August. This was seen raising implications for gross domestic product (GDP) tracking and interest rates. The greenback strengthened 0.4% to CA$1.3839 on last look. Treasury yields were little-changed this week, with next Friday's August CPI likely to be the tiebreaker for the Sept. 16 rate decision, wrote BMO Chief Economist Douglas Porter. However, in a Truth Social post this morning, US President Trump warned the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates or, "I would stop trading with countries with which we have a deficit..." Comex December gold futures fell 1.6% to $4,467 per ounce, as the strong jobs figures boosted rate hike expectations. West Texas Intermediate October crude oil futures, the US benchmark, fell 0.3% to $91 per barrel. November Brent oil futures, the international benchmark, rose 0.3% to $95.77 per barrel.