(RTTNews) - The Canadian dollar extended its recent rally against most major currencies during early New York trading on Wednesday. The loonie rose to a 1-week high of 1.2433 against the greenback and a 2-day high of 1.5954 against the euro by 9:45 am ET Wednesday, compared to yesterday's closing values of 1.2734 and 1.6152, respectively. The loonie also drifted higher to 77.98 against the Japanese yen by 9:55 am ET. This may be compared to yesterday's close of 77.03. Traders considered a report that the Canadian average weekly payroll earnings rose by 0.2% in August. In US, the Commerce Department released its advance report on durable goods orders for September. The report showed that orders for durable goods increased by 0.8 percent in September following a revised 5.5 percent decrease in August. The increase in orders came as a surprise to economists, who had expected orders to fall by 1.0 percent. The US Federal Open Market Committee, the policy-setting arm of the U.S. central bank, is expected to announce its interest rate decision at 2:15 p.m. ET after the conclusion of a two-day meeting and the Fed is widely expected to cut its short term lending rate.

Source