BLBG:Canadian Dollar Appreciates After Spanish Bailout
Canada’s dollar climbed versus its U.S. counterpart after Spain’s request for a bailout for its troubled banks eased concern about Europe’s debt crisis spreading, boosting demand for riskier assets.
The currency touched a three-week high versus the greenback as U.S. equity-index futures and prices for raw materials gained. It pared gains as Spanish and Italian government bonds reversed their advance. The currency capped its first weekly gain in six on June 8 after the nation’s economy added more jobs than economists forecast and its central bank quelled speculation about interest-rate cuts.
“The Spanish news decreases the contagion risk marginally,” said Geoff Kendrick, head of European currency strategy at Nomura Holdings Inc., by phone from London. “Equities are up today, so it’s a marginal positive for” commodity currencies such as the Canadian dollar.
Canada’s currency, nicknamed the loonie, appreciated 0.2 percent to C$1.0251 per U.S. dollar at 7:47 a.m. in Toronto. It touched C$1.0201, the most since May 22. One Canadian dollar buys 97.53 U.S. cents.
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