7 October 2009

Loonie stays near one-year high

The following is excertped from today's edition of "globeandmail.com".

The Canadian dollar... was little changed Wednesday after record gold prices sent the currency to a one-year high earlier in the day.

The currency, which has risen 10.2 per cent in the past three months, traded at 94.17 cents from yesterday's close of 94.38 cents. It earlier rose as high as 94.98 cents, a one-year high, as gold hit a record.

The loonie has been one of the world's top-performing currencies in recent days as commodity prices have strengthened and investors have sold U.S. dollars. The latest increase comes despite numerous warnings from Bank of Canada officials that the currency's strength threatens an economic rebound.

The market “will be keeping a close eye on the 95-cent area with respect to Bank of Canada concerns that the Canadian-dollar strength may hamper any economy recovery,” said Christian Lawrence, Royal Bank of Canada foreign-exchange strategist...