By Chris Fournier Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Canada’s dollar rose for a second session against its U.S. counterpart as commodities such as gold and copper rose and global stocks gained, burnishing the appeal of currencies linked to economic growth. Canada’s dollar was the biggest winner against the greenback among the 16 most-traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg and appreciated to the strongest level versus the euro in more than a year. Canada’s retail sales increased in October for a third straight month, Statistics Canada is forecast to report today. “Equities are helping the Canadian dollar,” said Michael Leavitt, a Montreal-based institutional-derivatives broker at MF Global Canada Co. “Retail sales today may also give the Canadian dollar a boost.” The Canadian currency appreciated 1 percent to C$1.0556 per U.S. dollar at 8:16 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.0664 on Dec. 18. Against the euro, the currency advanced to C$1.5140, the strongest level since November 2008. One Canadian dollar buys 94.73 U.S. cents. Retail sales in Canada rose 0.8 percent in October after climbing 1 percent in both September and August, according to the median forecast of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The government’s statistics agency is scheduled to deliver its report at 8:30 a.m. today in Ottawa. To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Fournier in Montreal at cfournier3@bloomberg.net

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