The following is a 7 February 2011 news release by Reuters Canada.

Canada's dollar held firm against the U.S. currency on Monday morning, supported by optimism about a global economic recovery and rising commodity prices.

World stocks were firmer, hovering near a 29-month high, and copper rallied to a record high while oil prices were also advancing.

"We're going back to watching asset markets for direction," said Adam Cole, global head of FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets in London, noting a lack of major economic data releases this week and a risk-on tone in early trade.

"Most currencies are down against a generally stronger dollar. (Canada's dollar) is generally flattish against the (U.S.) dollar but performing reasonably well against its commodity pairs and G10 currencies."

At 8:15 a.m. (1515 GMT), the Canadian dollar was at C$0.9871 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0131, moderately firmer than Friday's North American close at C$0.9884 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0117.

Cole said the Canadian dollar held its ground partly in a North American play on last week's employment figures, where Canada's economy created more than quadruple the 15,000 that markets had expected.

Although the rise in January U.S. payrolls was much smaller than expected, traders concluded the figure was affected by severe snowstorms and instead focused on a sharp drop in the jobless rate.

"The market's reading of the U.S. employment data on Friday was, on balance, better-than-expected despite what the headline number showed," said Cole. "The market has gone with the view that the weather was a major factor."

RBC put the Canadian dollar's trading range on Monday between C$0.9840-C$0.9905.

Canadian government bond yields rose across the curve, following the lead of U.S. 10-year Treasury yields, which hit their highest since May.

The two-year bond dipped 1 Canadian cent to yield 1.855 percent, while the 10-year bond fell 12 Canadian cents to yield 3.476 percent.