Canadian dollar is higher as commodities see a sharp jump in prices. The latest ISM data in the United States is helping matters, especially for the loonie, but the manufacturing expansion in China and Australia is also helping quite a bit.

With economic data improving for the United States and for other countries, optimism is running high. That means that commodity prices are improving and commodity currencies, like the loonie, are getting a boost.

The Canadian dollar is also benefitting from the good news in the United States since the country is Canada’s biggest trading partner. With news of economic recovery, there are expectations that demand will increase, further helping the Canadian dollar.

Also helping the loonie is a gain in oil prices. Canada relies heavily on oil prices, and the tensions between Iran and the West are putting upward pressure on oil. As a result, the loonie is expected to continue to see solid gains today.

There are still concerns about what’s next for the eurozone, though. Concerns about a European banking crisis are looming in the background, but for now there is a great deal of optimism and risk appetite.

At 14:46 GMT USD/CAD is lower at 1.0103, down from the open at 1.0186. GBP/CAD is also lower at 1.5748, down from the open at 1.5810.

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