Dollar up on stronger U.S. jobs data

The Canadian dollar rose sharply Wednesday after a report showed American private employers added 297,000 jobs in December, the biggest increase since 2001.

The survey, by payroll processor ADP, was far above the 100,000 economists expected.

The loonie, which opened Wednesday at 99.87 cents US, down 0.28 of a cent from Tuesday's close, took a U-turn after the report came out, and closed up 21 basis points to 100.36 U.S. cents.

The ADP report was the first chance for investors to see how strong the job market was in December.

The next look comes Friday morning when the Labour Department releases its monthly report on total U.S. payrolls and the unemployment rate. Economists expect the rate will dip to 9.7 per cent from 9.8 per cent.

"The Canadian dollar is doing better because a good U.S. number should be good for Canada," said John Curran, senior vice-president CanadianForex.

"If you get a good number out of the U.S., it's going to basically flow into Canada at some point."