By Cordell Eddings Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar gained for a fifth straight day, its longest winning streak since October, as copper and gold rose and crude oil, the nation’s biggest export, traded near a 14-month high. Canada’s currency, which rose the most last year since 2007, was near a two-month high before a government report on Jan. 8 that’s forecast to show the nation’s employers added 20,000 jobs in December. Companies in the U.S. cut an estimated 84,000 positions last month, more than forecast, an industry report showed today. “The Canadian dollar has risen, holding its own against other currencies, due to strong fundamentals,” said Jack Spitz, managing director of foreign exchange at National Bank of Canada in Toronto. “The steady nature of its rise suggests the market believes the currency is strong fundamentally.” The currency, nicknamed the loonie for the image of the waterfowl on the C$1 coin, appreciated 0.3 percent to C$1.0362 per U.S. dollar at 9:04 a.m. in Toronto, compared with C$1.0390 yesterday, when it touched C$1.0337, the strongest level since Oct. 20. One Canadian dollar buys 96.50 U.S. cents. Raw materials including crude oil, copper and gold generate half of Canada’s export revenue. To contact the reporter on this story: Cordell Eddings in New York at ceddings@bloomberg.net

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