Loonie surges after ECB slashes interest rates

 

The value of the monetary unit of Canada pushed to its highest in 24 months against the shared currency of the European Union on Thursday in the aftermath of central bank efforts to spur the 17-nation bloc's economies, Bloomberg reports.

The Canadian dollar also touched its highest value since the middle of May against the greenback after the European Central Bank slashed interest rates, a move that had been anticipated as the sovereign debt crisis continues thrashing about the euro zone.

"There is a commitment from central bankers to protect the stability of financial markets and maintain loose policy," head of currency strategy Camilla Sutton with Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto told the news source. "That's somewhat supportive of growth, and also important for growth are commodity currencies like Australia and Canada."

The loonie was up 1.1 percent against the euro shortly after noon, representing its highest value since June 2010.

So too did the People's Bank of China slash interest rates, The Canadian Press reports. The bank of England kicked off another phase of quantitative easing.