Photo: The Canadian Press

TORONTO — The loonie climbed to its highest level in nearly three years Thursday on anticipation that a global economic recovery will drive global demand for Canadian commodities.

The Canadian dollar traded for 79.03 cents US after hitting an intraday high of 79.22, its strongest level since April 2018. It compared with 78.68 cents US on Wednesday.

“If we have a global recovery, it’s oil demand, it’s metals demand and Canada is a big supplier of those commodities to the rest of the world,” said Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp.

The currency moved up amid a further gain in crude oil prices.

The February crude oil contract added 66 cents to US$53.57 per barrel. The February natural gas contract was down 6.1 cents at nearly US$2.67 per mmBTU.

Crude levels powered the energy sector to gain 2.5%, with shares of Canadian energy producers Crescent Point Energy Corp. surging 8.9%, Cenovus Energy Inc. up 5.2% and Husky Energy Inc. 5.1% higher.

Health care led the TSX higher, gaining 6% as interest in cannabis names grew with the potential further opening of the large U.S. market following a Democratic sweep of the U.S. government.

Aphria Inc. soared 20.1% after it swung to an adjusted profit on higher revenues, while shares of Aurora Cannabis Inc. were up 8.9%.

The two sectors led the S&P/TSX composite index slightly higher. It closed up 23.35 points to 17,958.09.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 68.95 points at 30,991.52 despite hitting a new high in earlier trading. The S&P 500 index lost 14.30 points at 3,795.54, while the Nasdaq composite was down 16.31 points at 13,112.64 after a record start to the day.

Overall, North American markets were relatively flat as investors awaited incoming U.S. President Joe Biden to unveil his stimulus package in an evening speech.