MW: Canada, Australia dollars surge against greenback
By Nicole Hong
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Canadian dollar strengthened as much as 1.3% against its U.S. counterpart USDCAD -1.14% on Monday, as positive European sentiment prompted investors to sell safe-haven assets like the U.S. dollar. At last check, one U.S. dollar bought 1.0266 Canadian, versus 1.0384 late Friday. Since the loonie hit a one-year low against the greenback last Tuesday, the Canadian currency has regained nearly 4%. Other commodity currencies also appreciated against the dollar, with the Australian AUDUSD +2.41% and New Zealand dollars NZDUSD +2.03% both gaining more than 2% against the greenback. Global stock markets rallied on Monday after Germany and France pledged support for bank recapitalization in the euro-zone debt crisis, pushing oil and copper prices up more than 3%. Canadian stock markets were closed Monday for Canadian Thanksgiving.
