Canada’s currency strengthened the most in more than a week as stocks rallied and crude oil gained on speculation the worst of the global recession may be over. The Canadian dollar rose as futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.5 percent. Crude oil, which accounts for about a tenth of Canada’s export revenue, also increased, climbing the most in two weeks to more than $50 a barrel, on signs the world economy may be stabilizing. “There’s a little more appetite for risk as equities continue to rally,” said Matthew Perrier, a director of foreign exchange at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “Subsequently, we’ve seen dollar-Canada sell off.” Canada’s currency strengthened 0.9 percent to C$1.2493 per U.S. dollar at 8:40 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.2600 yesterday. That’s the biggest increase since March 23, when it rose 1.6 percent after the U.S. Treasury detailed a program to help banks dispose of toxic assets. One Canadian dollar buys 80 U.S. cents. The European Central Bank lowered its benchmark interest rate today by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent. That’s less than the 50 basis-point cut most economists surveyed by Bloomberg. “The ECB rate decision gave commodity currencies a leg up,” said David Watt, a senior currency strategist in Toronto at RBC Capital Markets Inc., a unit of Canada’s largest bank.

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