The Canadian dollar traded higher against most major opponents on Friday, as oil prices moved up on concerns over possible disruption in oil supplies amid escalating violence in Iraq.
Crude oil for July delivery rose $0.19 to $106.72 a barrel.
After capturing Iraqi cities, Mosul and Tikrit, Jihadists aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria are moving south towards Baghdad. Reports from Mosul say thousands of Iraqi soldiers threw down their arms and fled.
The U.S. officials said they are watching events in Iraq closely, and will continue to help Iraqi security forces build their defensive capacity.
The loonie which ended Thursday’s trading at 1.0230 against the aussie advanced to 1.0177 in European deals and held steady thereafter. The next possible upside target for the loonie lies around the 1.01 zone.
Bouncing off from an early 2-day low of 1.4741 against the euro, the loonie edged up to 1.4679 and traded steadily in a short while. On the upside, 1.46 is seen as next key resistance level for the loonie.
Eurozone employment grew for the second straight quarter in the first three months of the year, figures from Eurostat showed today.
The number of employed rose 0.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013, when there was a similar gain.
The loonie extended rise to a 4-day high of 94.05 against the yen, compared to yesterday’s closing value of 93.66. On the upside, 94.5 is seen as next resistance level for the loonie.
The Bank of Japan today retained its monetary policy unchanged while raising its view on overseas growth.
The policy board of the BoJ unanimously decided to increase the monetary base at an annual pace of about JPY 60-JPY 70 trillion as widely expected by economists.
Meanwhile, the loonie held steady against the greenback with pair trading at 1.0859, after edging down from an early high of 1.0847.