Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Canada’s dollar climbed to the strongest level in more than two weeks, after gaining the most yesterday since May, as crude oil and stocks trimmed losses.

“The Canadian dollar tends to be a momentum-oriented currency, and with the sharp appreciation yesterday I do detect a bit of momentum driving into the market,” said Eric Lascelles, Toronto-based chief economist and strategist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, the nation’s second-biggest lender. “It’s a bit of a vacuum today with not much significant economic data.”

Canada’s currency rose against all of the 16 most-traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg, while the U.S. dollar gained versus nine of them. The Canadian dollar earlier fell amid speculation that yesterday’s 1.9 percent advance was too rapid to be sustained.

The currency, nicknamed the loonie for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, strengthened 0.6 percent to C$1.0495 per U.S. dollar at 4:20 p.m. in New York, from C$1.0553 yesterday. It touched C$1.0484, the strongest level since Oct. 23, after earlier depreciating as much as 0.5 percent. One Canadian dollar buys 95.28 U.S. cents.

Crude oil for December delivery slipped 0.4 percent to $79.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after tumbling as much as 1.9 percent. It rose earlier to $80.51. Crude is Canada’s biggest export. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was little changed, ending a six-day winning streak, after declining as much as 0.5 percent.

‘Almost the Opposite’

“Today it’s almost the opposite to what you would expect,” said Sacha Tihanyi, a currency strategist at Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto. “It’s a bit of a funny day for currencies.”

The loonie tends to strengthen, and the U.S. dollar to weaken, as stocks and commodities gain.

The U.S. and Canadian dollars broke through a technical level at C$1.05 to the greenback, and “that in itself provided further momentum” for sellers of the U.S. currency, said Matthew Strauss, a senior currency strategist in Toronto at Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s biggest bank.

“The market is still looking for direction after yesterday’s strong rally in everything risky,” Strauss added.

Canadian government bonds were little changed, with the 10- year note yield falling one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 3.49 percent. The price of the 3.75 percent security due in June 2019 increased 8 cents to C$102.10.

Comments on Strength

The loonie, which gained 16 percent this year, fell 0.7 percent over the past month as government and Bank of Canada officials reiterated comments that its strength threatened the nation’s economic recovery.

The U.S. dollar rose from almost a 15-month low against the currencies of most American trading partners on speculation demand for riskier assets will decline.

The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners including the loonie, euro and yen, was at 75.037, compared with 75.026 yesterday, when the gauge touched 74.930, the lowest level since August 2008. The index has lost 7.7 percent in 2009.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ruby Madren-Britton in New York at rmadrenbritt@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 10, 2009 16:25 EST