BLBG: Canadian Dollar Rises to Highest in Three Months on Economy
Canada’s dollar rose to the highest level since January as speculation the worst of the recession may be over boosted investor appetite for higher-yielding assets such as stocks and commodity-linked currencies.
“The stock market continues to rally,” said Stephen Gallo, head of market analysis at Schneider Foreign Exchange in London. “I’m very bullish on commodity currencies.”
The Canadian currency climbed 1.2 percent to C$1.1889 per U.S. dollar at 8:02 a.m. in Toronto. It earlier touched C$1.1862, the strongest level since Jan. 9. One Canadian dollar buys 84.11 U.S. cents.
The Federal Reserve said yesterday the pace of the U.S. economy’s contraction “appears to be somewhat slower.”
“There’s a bit of follow-through from the Fed yesterday,” Gallo said.
The MSCI World Index, a gauge of equities in 23 developed nations, advanced 1 percent. Crude oil for June delivery rose as much as 1.9 percent to $51.94 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
