Canada’s currency strengthened against all of its 16 most-traded counterparts as stronger-than- forecast data in the U.S. and China added to the appeal of currencies of commodity exporters. The Canadian currency gained to its strongest level in almost two weeks versus the greenback as retail sales in the U.S., Canada’s biggest trading partner, fell less than forecast in May and China’s retail sales and industrial output increased. “It certainly feels like risk sentiment is much improved today, and Canada has been benefiting from that,” said Steve Butler, director of foreign-exchange trading in Toronto at Bank of Nova Scotia’s Scotia Capital unit. “The U.S. data has been so negative recently it was a bit of a relief it was not a terrible number and helped give the market a little confidence.” The loonie, as Canada’s currency is nicknamed for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, gained for a second day, appreciating 0.6 percent to 97.03 cents per U.S. dollar at 9:54 a.m. in Toronto, from 97.61 cents yesterday. It earlier touched 96.97 cents, moving below the 97-cent level for the first time since June 1. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0306. The loonie last strengthened for more than a single day against the U.S. dollar in the three sessions ended May 19. Stocks, Commodities The MSCI World (MXWO) Index of stocks climbed 1.2 percent, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 1.1 percent. The Thomas Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of raw materials gained for the first time in three days, rising 0.2 percent. Raw materials account for about half of Canada’s exports. Crude oil, the nation’s biggest export, advanced following the U.S. data after fluctuating earlier. Crude for July delivery increased 0.2 percent to $97.49 a barrel in New York. The currencies of Australia and Norway, fellow commodity exporters, were among the top performers versus the greenback. “This week is really quiet in terms of Canadian data, so the Canadian dollar is really taking its cue from risk appetite,” said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at the online currency trader GFT Forex in New York. “Even though oil prices are back below $100 a barrel, in order for it to hurt the commodity currencies, we would need to see oil much closer to $90 a barrel.” U.S. Retail Sales Sales at U.S. retailers fell 0.2 percent in May as slumping demand for autos and electronics overshadowed gains among Internet merchants and restaurants, Commerce Department data showed. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 0.5 percent drop. The report followed reports earlier this month that showed the U.S. jobless rate rose to 9.1 percent in May and manufacturing slowed. China’s retail sales rose 16.9 percent last month, while industrial production increased 13.2 percent, more than economists forecast, the statistics bureau reported. The consumer-price index gained 5.5 percent, the fastest pace in almost three years. Lenders were ordered to set aside more cash as reserves. Canada’s government bonds fell, pushing the yield on the two-year benchmark up four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 1.5 percent. It touched 1.51 percent, the highest since June 1. The 1.75 percent security due in March 2013 dropped 6 cents to C$100.42. Ten-year note yields increased five basis points to 3.05 percent. Canadian industrial companies’ use of their production capacity rose to the highest level in more than three years between January and March on gains in manufacturing, government figures showed. The share of plant capacity in use rose to 79 percent in the first quarter, the highest since the end of 2007, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted the rate would be 77.2 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Allison Bennett in New York at abennett23@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net

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