Loonie's performance benefits from Chinese interest rate cut

The Canadian dollar gained in value against its southerly rival on Thursday, propelled higher by a brighter outlook for Spain's ability to find aid for its troubled financial institutions, according to The Canadian Press.

The loonie also benefited from China, host of the globe's second largest economy, advancing to help spur its economic interests. The Asian nation, which trails only that of the U.S. for size, for the past several months has endured hiccups. The country's central bank slashed interest rates for the first time in almost 48 months, which additional nations also are considering.

"That's given the commodity currencies a bit of a lift this morning," senior dealer Chris Applin with Canadian Forex in London told Reuters. "Central banks are willing to ease in these kinds of times as they appreciate that conditions are far from ideal."

Spain conducted a debt auction on Thursday that raised the euro equivalent of $2.5 billion.

The loonie's gains on Thursday continued the strong performance of the monetary unit from Wednesday, when it achieved its top one-day advance in more than 180 days.