Canadian Dollar Strengthens Against Major Currencies, Thursday, July 05, 2007 3:29:38 PM

The Canadian dollar strengthened against each of its major counterparts Thursday in New York. Investors mulled data showing that Canadian building permits rose sharply during May.

The Canadian dollar advanced against the greenback Thursday in New York. The loonie traded lower against its American counterpart for much of the morning, reaching an intraday low of 1.0593 at 9:40 am ET. The Canadian currency advanced soon after that, touching an intraday high of 1.0554 at 2:20 pm. The loonie gave back some of its gains to trade at a mark of 1.0565 at 3:12 pm. Greenback traders considered data showing that service sector growth in the U.S. unexpectedly accelerated in June.

Versus the euro, the Canadian dollar gained ground Thursday in New York. The Canadian currency fell during the morning, hitting an intraday low of 1.4450 at 6:50 am ET. The loonie gained after this, advancing to an intraday high of 1.4353 at 2:50 pm. The Canadian dollar gave back some of its gains over the next half hour to trade at a mark of 1.4366 at 3:16 pm. Traders mulled the European central bank`s decision to leave interest rates unchanged at a six-year high of 4.00%.

The Canadian dollar climbed against the sterling Thursday in New York. After the early morning was dominated by uncertain trading, the Canadian currency fell during the mid-morning. At 7:20 am ET, the loonie fell to an intraday trough of 2.1380. The loonie advanced soon after that, reaching an intraday high of 2.1242 at 11:30 am. The Canadian currency gave back some of its gains in the early afternoon to trade at a mark of 2.1255 at 3:20 pm. Traders considered the Bank of England`s expected move to hike interest rates 25-basis points from 5.50% to 5.75%.

Against the yen, the Canadian dollar moved higher Thursday in New York. The Canadian currency fell during the early morning, dipping to an intraday low of 115.65 at 6:40 am ET. The loonie advanced after that, hitting an intraday high of 116.32 at 3:10 pm. Traders considered data showing that Japan`s leading index gained during May.

Statistics Canada released its report on Canadian building permits in the month of May on Thursday, showing that the value of Canadian building permits rebounded by much more than expected after falling in the previous month. The report showed that the value of building permits surged up 21.4% to a record C$6.83 billion in May from C$5.63 billion in April. Economists had been expecting a much more modest increase of about 4.5% following the revised 7.3% decline in the previous month.

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