TORONTO -- The Canadian dollar continued to benefit from sharply higher crude prices today amid growing violence in Libya which has effectively split the country in two.
The currency was up half a cent to 101.65 cents U.S.
The risk aversion theme was front and center on currency markets today "as the internal conflict in Libya continued to intensify raising fears of a drastic, outsized response" from the Gadhafi regime, "including the possibility of a scorched earth policy," said a commentary from RBC Capital Markets.
The April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $3.36 to U.S. $101.46 a barrel as chaos in Libya interrupted oil supplies while investors also worry that anti-government protests could spread to other big Mideast producers.
Libya produces about 1.6 million barrels of crude per day and has the biggest oil reserves in Africa.
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Crude prices have surged 13 percent this week.
Other commodity prices headed higher with gold attracting buyers looking for a safe haven. The April bullion contract on the Nymex rose $3.80 to U.S. $1,417.80 an ounce.
Copper was up following a series of losses with the March contract in New York two cents higher to U.S. $4.30 a pound.
