The Canadian dollar touched a three-year low on speculation that slowing growth and risks of cooling inflation outweigh an improvement in the labor market.

The currency headed for a third weekly loss against its U.S. peer, the longest slump since August, after official data showed employment in Canada rose by 21,600 last month and the jobless rate remained 6.9 percent, the lowest since 2008. The Canadian dollar weakened beyond C$1.07 for the first time in three years Dec. 4 after the central bank kept interest rates at 1 percent and warned the risks of inflation remaining below its target band had increased.

“The BOC's focus now is really on inflation and exports—this jobs report is less important,” Camilla Sutton, head of currency strategy at Bank of Nova Scotia, said by phone from Toronto. “The jobs report highlights things in Canada are better than other people thought.”