Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Canada’s dollar appreciated the most in five months against its U.S. counterpart as the Group of 20 nations agreed to maintain economic stimulus measures, boosting stocks and commodities worldwide.

The Canadian dollar, nicknamed the loonie, touched the strongest level in two weeks. The currency, which tends to rise and fall with stock and commodity prices, outperformed 12 of the 16 most-traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The greenback fell against all except the yen after the G-20 remained silent on the U.S. currency’s weakness.

“The G-20 clearly committed to further growth over the weekend, and that’s helped the commodity currencies like the Canadian dollar to rally quite strongly,” said Camilla Sutton, Toronto-based director of currency strategy at Bank of Nova Scotia, the nation’s third-biggest bank. “Investors are ‘risk on’ once again.”

Canada’s currency advanced 1.8 percent to C$1.0563 per U.S. dollar at 4:53 p.m. in Toronto, from C$1.0753 on Nov. 6. It appreciated as much as 2 percent, the biggest intraday gain since May 29, and touched C$1.0543, the strongest level since Oct. 26. One Canadian dollar buys 94.67 U.S. cents.

The Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials rose 1.7 percent. Raw materials generate more than half of Canada’s export revenue. The MSCI World Index, a gauge of stocks in 23 developed nations, climbed 2.3 percent.

Canada’s government bonds were little changed, with the two-year note yielding 1.41 percent. The price of the 1.25 percent security maturing in December 2011 was C$99.69.

‘Maintain Support’

Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted 157,300 units last month, the highest level this year, from a revised 149,300 the previous month, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said today in Ottawa. That trailed the 158,500 median estimate of 21 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, host of a meeting in Scotland of finance ministers from G-20 nations, said his colleagues decided to keep supporting their economies.

“We agreed to maintain support for the recovery until it is assured,” Darling said on Nov. 7. “We are not out of the woods yet.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 2.2 percent. The Canadian dollar has a one-year correlation coefficient of 0.68 with the stock measure. A reading of 1 would mean they move in lock step.

‘Friendly for Risk’

“The comments coming out of the G-20 this weekend were considered friendly for risk and unfriendly for the U.S. dollar, and both trends have continued to hold true into the market,” said Jack Spitz, managing director of foreign exchange at National Bank of Canada in Toronto. “There is likely to be more U.S. dollar selling and more Canadian dollar buying throughout the week” in the absence of major economic reports scheduled in the U.S. or Canada.

Crude oil for December delivery gained as much as 3.6 percent to $80.19 a barrel in New York. Crude is Canada’s biggest export.

Gold futures for December delivery rose 0.8 percent to $1,104.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division after touching an all-time high of $1,111.70.

The loonie, which gained 15 percent this year, was the worst performer among its 16 most-traded counterparts over the past month, dropping 1.4 percent against the greenback, according to Bloomberg data.

“The Canadian dollar is going to close the year stronger than it’s at currently,” said Bank of Nova Scotia’s Sutton. “What we have in place right now is the makings of a global recovery, and as long as there’s no crack in the global economic recovery the Canadian dollar should continue to hold strong.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Chris Fournier in Montreal at cfournier3@bloomberg.net; Ruby Madren-Britton in New York at rmadrenbritt@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 9, 2009 16:56 EST