Canada's dollar reaches 14-year high on outlook for oil prices

The Canadian dollar reached a 14-year high on speculation that strong demand for Canada's natural resources such as oil and metals supports the currency's value.

Even with crude oil about $3 below its late August record of $70.85 a barrel, the price has doubled in two years, and it may rise this week on concern about a cutoff of supplies from Iran, the world's fourth-largest producer. Canada is the seventh- largest producer, and oil and other commodities account for about 35 percent of Canadian exports.

``We have a pretty strong fundamental demand picture in oil,'' said Carolyn Kwan, an economist with Scotia Capital Inc. in Toronto. Current oil prices are sustainable and not merely the result of a ``temporary spike due to an event like a hurricane,'' Kwan said.

http://tinyurl.com/cuowp