Canada’s currency rose as a report showing a surge in U.S. consumer confidence buoyed stock markets and crude oil pared losses. “As long as you get these better economic indicators, you can imagine the currency can continue to rally,” said Mark Chandler, a Toronto-based strategist at RBC Capital Markets Inc., a unit of Canada’s largest bank. “Our view is eventually we’ll get some pullback but it could still be a while away.” The Canadian dollar gained 0.2 percent to C$1.1214 per U.S. dollar at 11:31 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.1241 yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys 89.17 U.S. cents. Canada’s currency, known as the loonie for the aquatic bird on the one-dollar coin, gained 16 percent since reaching a four- year low on March 9 as investors stepped out of havens into higher-yielding assets such as stocks amid signs the global economic slump is moderating. The MSCI World, a benchmark index for stocks in 23 developed markets, climbed 1.3 percent after earlier falling as much as 1 percent. The Conference Board’s sentiment index climbed to 54.9, higher than forecast and the biggest gain since April 2003, the New York-based research group said today. Crude oil for July delivery slipped 0.1 percent to $61.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier touching $59.53. The oil sands of Alberta, Canada’s fourth-most populous province, contain 173 billion barrels of petroleum, the largest pool of reserves outside Saudi Arabia. Oil sands development will “make sense again” when the price of crude reaches $73 per barrel, probably in 2010, as input costs fall and energy demand in emerging-market economies accelerates, Macquarie Group Ltd. said.

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