The Canadian dollar climbed to an almost three-week high versus the US dollar Wednesday, buoyed by an increase on oil prices.

US crude ended up $1.29 at $61.43 a barrel. The loonie was also bolstered by broad pressure on the greenback as the Japanese yen escalated following Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the currency was very weak.

The loonie finished at 81.55 US cents from Tuesday’s 81.00 US cents.

It was establishing an environment in which currencies “are gaining quite substantially,” said Jack Spitz, Managing Director of Foreign Exchange at National Bank Financial.

Traders will await data on capacity utilization rate in the 1st quarter and new housing price index for April due this week.

The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com