I hope things keep going this way...
Oil prices send loonie rising in overseas trading
Updated Thu. Oct. 30 2008 7:49 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
The Canadian dollar continued to soar in overseas trading Thursday on the back of rising oil prices, gaining two cents after Wednesday's three-and-a half cent gain.
At 7:25 a.m. Eastern time, the loonie was trading at 83.60 U.S., nearly two cents higher than Wednesday's close of 81.63 cents U.S.
In early trading Thursday, the dollar was as high as 83.86.
"Part of the reason is that oil was up $4.77 yesterday, gold was up $13.50, and the Canadian dollar is of course tied into those resources," BNN's Michael Kane said Thursday on Canada AM.
The falling U.S. greenback is also making the loonie appear stronger, Kane said.
The U.S. Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday by another half a percentage point and rate cuts have "a tendency to weaken the dollar," Kane said.
Investors may also be skittish about the greenback ahead of a second-quarter report on the U.S. gross domestic product that is to be released today.
The GDP is a primary indicator of economic growth or contraction, Kane said, and experts are divided on what the report will say.
Estimates range from growth of 1.2 per cent to contraction of 1.9 per cent, Kane said.
The loonie's jump Wednesday was its largest single-day gain, beating a record set in the early 1970s.