TORONTO -- The Canadian dollar rocketed to its highest close in nine months as the price of oil pushed a barrel of crude above the US$44 mark.
The loonie climbed 0.40 of a U.S. cent to 79.23 cents US, its best finish since July 3 when the currency ended the trading day at 79.62 cents US. The dollar was supported by gains in oil, with the June contract for West Texas Intermediate crude shooting up $1.40 to US$44.04 a barrel,
Elsewhere in commodities, June natural gas gave back three cents to US$2.16 per mmBtu, while July copper was off a penny at US$2.24 a pound and June gold gained $3.20 to US$1,243.40 a troy ounce.
Meanwhile, stock markets were lacklustre with Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index adding 13.45 points to 13,809.44, helped by gains in the metals, materials and energy sectors.
South of the border, U.S. markets were also relatively flat, trading in a narrow range as investors await the outcome of the latest policy-rate decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Fed wraps up the two-day meeting on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 13.08 points to 17,990.32, while the broader S&P 500 added 3.91 points to 2,091.70 and the Nasdaq composite shed 7.48 points to 4,888.31.
