Canadian Dollar Rises Amid Surging Oil Prices

(RTTNews) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday, as crude oil prices rise by more than 25 percent after the U.S. and Israel attacked multiple Iranian oil depots.

Israel intensified air strikes on Iran, while the U.S. said its attacks on Iran are going to "surge dramatically.

Crude oil has skyrocketed over the past week as the U.S.-Iran conflict spreads across the Middle East and swelled outwards to Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Azerbaijan, leading to concerns about a global energy crisis as well as the outlook for trade, prices and investment.

Oil prices surged past $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022 following production cuts by major Middle Eastern producers—including Kuwait, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates—after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to some media reports, numerous Iranian oil terminals were struck during a joint operation by the US and Israel over the weekend, causing the price of WTI oil to rise more than 25% in the Asian market above $110.00.

In an interview with Financial Times (FT) on Friday, Saad al-Kaabi, the minister of energy for Qatar, cautioned that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East might push oil prices to $150 per barrel.

Investors await the release of the Canadian employment data for February, due on Friday. Market forecasts for the Bank of Canada's (BoC) monetary policy outlook will be greatly impacted by the employment figures. The economists expect the employers to hire 9.5K new employees after firing 24.8K in January.

In the Asian trading today, the Canadian dollar rose to more than 1-1/2-year high of 117.20 against the yen and a 9-month high of 1.5613 against the euro, from last week's closing quotes of 116.31 and 1.5764, respectively. If the loonie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 119.00 against the yen and 1.55 against the euro.

Against the U.S. and the Australian dollars, the aussie advanced to a 4-week high of 1.3555 and a 5-week high of 0.9463 from Friday's closing quotes of 1.3567 and 0.9539, respectively. On the upside, 1.33 against the greenback and 0.92 against the aussie are seen as the next resistance levels for the loonie.

Looking ahead, German factory orders and industrial production for January are due to be released at 2:00 am ET in the pre-European session.

In the New York session, U.S. consumer inflation expectations for February are slated for release.