BLBG: Commodities, Stocks Rally as Alcoa Tops Estimates, Dollar Drops
Canada’s dollar climbed to the strongest level in more than 14 months against its U.S. counterpart as investors sought out higher-yielding assets and the currency breached an important technical barrier.
“Right now, commodity currencies are in the lead pack of risk taking,” said Sebastien Galy, a currency strategist in New York at BNP Paribas. The “break of very important key technical level of C$1.03” is also contributing to the gains, he said.
The Canadian currency advanced 0.7 percent to C$1.0281 per U.S. dollar at 7:44 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.0348 yesterday. It touched C$1.0267, the highest level since Aug. 4, 2008. One Canadian dollar buys 97.27 U.S. cents.
Canada’s dollar, nicknamed the loonie, outperformed 14 of the 16 most-traded currencies against the U.S. dollar. Only New Zealand’s dollar and Norway’s krone, like Canada nations that rely on exports, gained more versus the greenback.
The Canadian currency, which last traded at C$1 per U.S. dollar on July 22, 2008, has appreciated 19 percent this year.