BLBG:Canadian Dollar Climbs Against Major Peers on North America View
Canada’s dollar appreciated against all of its major counterparts, rising along with the U.S. dollar and the Mexican peso, on speculation North America economic growth will outpace other developed countries.
The Canadian currency rose to the highest level in more than a month versus the euro. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi may hint at further stimulus measures to counter the debt crisis after a policy meeting today. The loonie, as the currency is nicknamed, gained the most against the dollars of Australia and New Zealand as U.S. stock-index futures advanced.
“The region looks better-placed than most others,” said Jeremy Stretch, head of currency strategy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in London, in an e-mail, referring to North America. “We continue to favor the Canadian dollar on the crosses.” Crosses refers to transactions involving currencies other than the U.S. dollar.
Stretch said he prefers the Canadian dollar versus the euro and the Australian dollar.
Canada’s currency advanced 0.5 percent to C$1.2921 versus the euro, at 7:46 a.m. in Toronto. It touched the highest since March 14 against the 17-nation common currency. It rose 0.3 percent to 98.36 cents per U.S. dollar, and one Canadian dollar buys $1.0167.
The ECB kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low 1 percent, matching the forecast of all 58 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
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
