"Canada’s currency posted its first advance in three weeks amid gains in equities and speculation the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates after a report showed job growth beat economists’ expectations fivefold.

The Canadian currency gained 2.8 percent since July 2 as crude oil, Canada’s largest export, advanced 5.5 percent. Trading in derivatives showed a higher probability of a quarter- percentage point rise in the central bank’s policy rate on July 20. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied 5.4 percent in its largest weekly gain in a year.

“It’s difficult to find any technical or fundamental reason to not own the currency,” Dean Popplewell, an analyst at online currency-trading firm Oanda Corp. in Toronto, said in an e-mail, “whether it’s growth, the Bank of Canada’s attempt to normalize rates somewhat or as a safer-haven proxy.” Popplewell predicted the currency will exceed parity during the next month"


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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-10/canada-s-currency-s...