By Chris Fournier Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar appreciated the most in more than two weeks as a rally in commodities such as crude oil and gold boosted the outlook for the nation’s exports. The dollar rose for the first time in three days, gaining as much as 1.2 percent as global stocks rallied after the Asian Development Bank said regional economies will expand faster than initially forecast this year. Canada derives more than half its export revenue from raw materials. “Risk is back on,” said Jack Spitz, managing director of foreign exchange at National Bank of Canada in Toronto. “Commodities and energy are trading higher. The U.S. dollar is under pressure after two days of short squaring. It’s back to a much more bullish environment for the Canadian dollar.” The Canadian currency strengthened 1 percent to C$1.0677 per U.S. dollar at 12:04 p.m. in Toronto, from C$1.0791 yesterday and touched C$1.0661. One Canadian dollar buys 93.66 U.S. cents. The currency briefly pared gains after Statistics Canada said the nation’s retail sales fell 0.6 percent in July to C$34.2 billion ($32 billion). Economists predicted sales would rise 0.7 percent, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The dollars of New Zealand and Australia, which like Canada’s tend to rise and fall with commodity prices, outperformed all but one of the 16 most-traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg, the Swedish krona, with gains of 2.1 percent and 1.3 percent respectively, against the U.S. dollar. Canada’s currency, nicknamed the loonie, was the seventh-biggest gainer. The greenback fell against all 16 counterparts. ‘Significant Appreciation’ The MSCI World Index, a gauge of equities in 23 developed nations, rose 1.2 percent. It reached a 2009 high last week. Crude oil for October delivery climbed $1.73, or 2.54 percent, to $71.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude, Canada’s largest export, is up 60 percent this year. Gold for December delivery gained 1.3 percent to $1,018 an ounce. Futures have climbed for the past five weeks. “If the fundamentals don’t change, par will be just one stop on the destination towards significant Canadian dollar appreciation,” said Firas Askari, head currency trader in Toronto at BMO Capital Markets, referring to parity between the Canadian dollar and its U.S. counterpart, which he predicts will take place by early next year. Canadian government bonds were little changed, with the 10- year’s yield rising one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 3.42 percent. The price of the 3.75 percent security due in June 2019 fell 10 cents to C$102.69.

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