TORONTO -- The Canadian dollar was above 77 cents US this morning, getting support from strong employment report and higher oil prices.
The loonie had been below 76.50 cents US just before the March jobs figures were released at 8:30 a.m. and soared just above 77 cents within a matter of minutes as Statistics Canada reported an unexpectedly high 40,600 jobs were added to the economy last month.
That's the biggest one-month jump in employment in six months.
The loonie surge also came as the price of crude oil strengthened.
The Canadian dollar was up 1.05 cents at 77.13 cents U.S. later in the morning as the May contract for oil rose $2.48 to US$39.74.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX index was up 137.13 points or one per cent at 13,403.57, with the metals, mining and energy sectors leading the charge.
The main U.S. markets were also up but the gains weren't as pronounced, with indexes rising half a per cent or less. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 80.13 points to 17,622.09, the broader S&P 500 composite index advanced 11.11 points to 2,053.02 and the Nasdaq composite gained 14.02 points to 4,862.39.
The May natural gas was down marginally at $2:01 per mmBTU. The June gold contract rose $5.30 to US$1,242.80 an ounce and May copper contracts rose one cent to US$2.09 a pound.
