Canadian Dollar at 3-Year High

The Canadian dollar gained 0.4 percent to 96.78 U.S. cents to the US dollar at 8:12 am in Toronto from $97.14 at yesterday’s close. The “loonie” as the Canadian dollar is known, is receiving a boost from rising commodity prices and in particular, surging crude oil prices.

“The Canadian dollar has the benefit of having the commodities the world wants, not just crude and gold but aluminum that are used for expanding societies such as India and China,” said Firas Askari, head currency trader in Toronto at Bank of Montreal. “Equities are up across the board. It looks like things in Libya are going to be protracted without a simple solution and the market is getting more comfortable with that.”

Source: Bloomberg