EU crisis boosts Canadian dollar

Canada's dollar rose to a two-month high against its US counterpart on concern Europe's debt crisis is worsening and on signs growth in the US is slowing, supporting demand for Canadian assets. The loonie, as the currency is nicknamed, rose against most of its major counterparts last week after Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's put the US under review for a credit downgrade. The currency also appreciated against the euro, which fell after eight banks failed European Union stress tests and Moody's downgraded Ireland to below investment grade. The Bank of Canada likely won't raise interest rates this week. "In the environment of concern about financial-sector strength, the Canadian dollar is a fairly attractive currency relative to its peers," said David Watt, senior currency strategist at Royal Bank of Canada's RBC Capital unit in Toronto. Canada's government bonds rose, pushing the ten-year yield lower by nine basis points to 2.87 per cent. The nation's sovereign securities have returned 1.4 per cent this month and are up 3.2 per cent in 2011, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch data. The eight banks that failed the EU stress tests had a combined capital shortfall of €2.5 billion (Dh13 billion) regulators said. All banks tested in Italy, Germany, France, the UK and Ireland passed, the lenders said on Friday. The assessments are the first by the European Banking Authority since it was set up earlier this year. Banks that fail the stress test must present a plan to raise more capital within in three months. "Canada is still looking like a relatively attractive destination for foreign investors," said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Toronto-Dominion Bank in Toronto. "The stress tests add to the impression that Europe is bumbling along here and heading to a potential day of reckoning." From / Gulf News