BLBG: Canadian Dollar Reaches Two-Month High on Rise in Stocks, Crude Oil Prices
Canada’s dollar strengthened to a two-month high versus its U.S. counterpart as global stocks rose and crude oil, the nation’s largest export, traded near an eight-week high, improving the outlook for investments linked to growth.
The currency is up about 3.3 percent this year, after a 16 percent rise last year, as demand for the nation’s raw materials recovered. Canada draws about half its export revenue from commodities including oil, copper, lumber and wheat.
“Markets are in risk-seeking mode,” Camilla Sutton, director of currency strategy in Toronto at Bank of Nova Scotia’s Scotia Capital unit, said via e-mail. “The U.S. dollar is broadly weaker, oil is flirting with $82 and gold has reached another new high. There’s upside pressure on the Canadian dollar.”
Canada’s dollar, nicknamed the loonie, strengthened 0.6 percent to C$1.0181 per U.S. dollar at 9:21 a.m. in Toronto, compared with C$1.0239 yesterday. It touched C$1.0172, the strongest level since Aug. 6. One Canadian dollar buys 98.24 U.S. cents.
The MSCI World Index of equities gained 0.7 percent. Crude oil for November delivery rose 1.3 percent to $82.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Fournier in Montreal at cfournier3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net