Canada’s dollar rose for the first time in four days versus the greenback on speculation the nation’s economy will weather a slowdown in global growth better than most of its developed-nation peers. The loonie, as the currency is also known, approached the strongest level in almost four years on speculation the Bank of Canada will resume increasing borrowing costs. Employers added jobs for a fourth straight month, a government report is forecast to show this week. “The Canadian dollar still looks reasonably attractive against the majority of its peers,” Jeremy Stretch, head of currency strategy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said by phone from London. “In an environment where we’re worried about things like fiscal positions and growth, clearly Canada isn’t immune to a slowdown in the U.S., but its domestic fundamentals are still reasonable and on the fiscal side it still looks favorable from a Western, developed-economy standpoint.” The Canadian currency appreciated 0.3 percent to 95.82 cents per U.S. dollar at 9:27 a.m. in Toronto, from 96.13 cents yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0436. It rallied on July 26 to 94.07 cents, the strongest level since November 2007. Canada’s 30-year bond yield snapped six days of decreases after touching 3.155 percent yesterday, the lowest in Bank of Canada records dating to 1970. The price of the 4 percent security due in June 2041 was little changed at C$116, with the yield at 3.17 percent. Loonie Versus Franc The loonie had its biggest gain today versus the Swiss franc among the 16 most-traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg, climbing 1.8 percent 80.72 centimes. The franc tumbled against all of its major counterparts after the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to weaken the currency and support Switzerland’s economy. The Swiss currency has soared 23 percent in the past 12 months, making it the best performer among 10 developed-nation peers in Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indexes including the Canadian dollar. “There was always going to come a point where the SNB felt compelled to do something,” CIBC’s Stretch said. The Canadian dollar extended its gain versus the greenback after ADP Employer Services reported that U.S. companies added 114,000 workers in July. The median forecast of 39 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for an advance of 100,000. The Labor Department’s payrolls report on Aug. 5 is forecast to show an increase of 85,000 jobs. America is Canada’s biggest trading partner. Canadian employers added a net 15,000 workers to payrolls in July, according to the median forecast of 26 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Statistics Canada is due to release figures at 7 a.m. in Ottawa the day after tomorrow. To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Fournier in Halifax at cfournier3@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net

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