Canada: Unemployment Rate fell to 5.6% in December vs. 5.8% expected

• Unemployment Rate in Canada fell more than expected in December.
• USD/CAD is under strong bearish pressure and approaching 1.30. 

The data published by Statistics Canada on Friday showed that the Unemployment Rate in Canada fell to 5.6% in December from 5.9% in November to beat the market expectation of 5.8%.

With the initial market reaction, the USD/CAD pair lost more than 50 pips in a matter of minutes and was last down 0.12% on the day at 1.3038.

"In the 12 months to December, employment increased by 320,000 (+1.7%), the result of gains in full-time work (+283,000 or +1.9%)," Statistics Canada noted in its press release. "Over the same period, the number of hours worked was little changed."