Stocks & Crude Oil Add Strength to Loonie

The Canadian dollar rose today as stocks advanced and crude oil gained, reducing risk aversion on Forex market and improving prospects for growth-related currencies. The pessimistic outlook on markets receded somewhat. Most economists believe that it’s not for long and very soon riskier assets will again feel the weight of the pessimism, but for now traders again inclined to risk. Some analysts think that the current strength of the loonie (the nickname of the Canadian currency) is more a result of a weaker greenback than of good fundamentals. The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index rose 0.5 percent, posting the first gain in three days. October futures for crude oil delivery advanced 2.6 percent to $90.52 per barrel in New York, the highest price since August 4, before trading at $89.79. Raw materials (including crude oil) are the source of about a half of Canada’s export revenue. USD/CAD traded at about 0.9850 as of 1:18 GMT today after it slumped from 0.9927 to 0.9857. EUR/CAD traded near 1.3488 after falling from 1.3578 to 1.3482. CAD/JPY traded at 78.02, following the advance from 77.71 to 77.98 on the previous trading session