Investing.com - The Canadian dollar rose to fresh seven-week highs against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as oil prices surged, boosting the risk-sensitive, commodity-linked Canadian currency.
USD/CAD was last at 1.3122, down 0.49% for the day after touching lows of 1.3112, the weakest level since October 20.
Oil prices hit the highest levels since July 2015 earlier Monday after major oil producers reached a deal over the weekend to cut output in an attempt to reduce the global supply overhang.
Higher prices for oil, one of Canada's major exports, typically boost the Canadian dollar.
Demand for the loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, continued to be underpinned despite the Bank of Canada last Wednesday noting "significant" slack in the Canadian economy as it kept interest rates on hold.
Meanwhile, investors were turning their attention to the outcome of the final Federal Reserve meeting of 2016 on Wednesday.
Little doubt remains that the Fed will hike rates for the first time in a year at the meeting, with investors pricing in a 100% chance of an increase, according to federal funds futures tracked Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
The Fed is also expected to announce updated economic forecasts and markets will be watching for signals the outlook for inflation and the expected pace of rate hikes in 2017.
Higher rates boost the dollar by making the currency more attractive to yield-seeking investors.
The greenback slid against a basket of six other major currencies amid pre-meeting jitters, with the U.S. dollar index down 0.47% to 101.12.