Canada’s dollar rose versus its U.S. counterpart, rebounding from the lowest level since March, as crude oil, Canada’s largest export, erased its decline. The loonie, as the currency is sometimes known for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, was still down against a majority of its most-traded peers. The U.S. dollar dropped against all but two of the 16 most-traded currencies. “Risk appears to be back on the table,” said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at the capital markets unit of Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto. “Most asset classes are moving in tandem higher. The U.S. dollar is notably weak.” The Canadian currency rose 0.4 percent to 97.21 cents versus the U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto, after earlier touching 97.94, the weakest level since March 28. It ended yesterday at 97.58 cents. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0287. Futures on crude oil rose 0.3 percent to $97.65 a barrel in New York after touching $95.02. The MSCI World Index of developed-nation stocks decreased 0.6 percent, after dropping as low as 1.1 percent earlier. IntercontinentalExchange Inc.’s Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners including the loonie, dropped 0.1 percent after gaining as much as 0.5 percent as investors sought refuge. Government bonds rose, pushing the yield on two-year bonds down three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 1.64 percent. The yield touched 1.63 percent, the lowest level since March 21. The price of the 1.75 percent security maturing in March 2013 climbed 5 cents to C$100.20. Investment Flows The loonie is trying to “penetrate option barrier resistance,” said Dean Popplewell, an analyst at the online currency-trading firm Oanda Corp. in Toronto. With options at 98 cents expiring at the end of the month, traders will try to prevent the greenback from appreciating beyond that level to ensure the wagers finish at a profit, he said. Foreigners purchased a net C$6.34 billion of Canadian securities in March, split between stocks and bonds. Foreign investors bought C$3.24 billion of bonds and divested C$209 million of money-market paper. Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest mutual fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday that investors should focus on alternatives to U.S. debt including top-rated Canadian and Australian securities and higher-yielding emerging-market debt. To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Fournier in Halifax, Nova Scotia, at cfournier3@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net

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