Canada’s Dollar Declines on Interest-Rate Divergence With U.S.

The Canadian dollar fell after employment gains in the U.S. spurred bets for higher interest rates there while traders discounted similarly strong hiring in Canada on projections the plunge in oil will weigh on future payrolls.

The currency declined even after Canadian employment rose by 35,400 and the jobless rate fell to 6.6 percent from 6.7 percent in January, Statistics Canada said in Ottawa. The Bank of Canada surprised markets on Jan. 21 with its first interest-rate cut since 2009 amid an “unambiguously negative” drop in prices for crude oil, Canada’s largest export. Traders see the U.S. Federal Reserve on course to raise rates this year. Higher interest rates buoy a currency by drawing capital to a country.