Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Canadian dollars (loonies) fall through the air in a photo illustration in Vancouver, B.C. Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

The Canadian dollar was higher Wednesday as oil prices advanced and the U.S. dollar declined in advance of the release of the minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.

The loonie gained 0.32 of a cent to 98.11 cents US.

Traders will look to the minutes, to be released at 2 p.m. EDT, for indications the central bank is considering another round of economic stimulus.

Hopes for more action from the Fed have risen in the past week amid disappointing readings on the American manufacturing and service sectors and job creation numbers for June that were below modest expectations.

Other central banks moved recently to help keep the recovery on the rails.

The European Central Bank and the People's Bank of China cut lending rates last week. But slowing trade growth in China and weak jobs creation in the U.S. have investors worried that markets could languish until the Federal Reserve implements another round of Treasury bond purchases known as quantitative easing.

Commodity prices gained ground after weak Chinese trade data sent oil and copper lower on Tuesday.

The August crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.05 to US$84.96 a barrel.

Copper eased off session highs and was unchanged at US$3.40 a pound while bullion declined $5.50 to US$1,574.30 an ounce.

Markets also digested the latest trade data from Canada and the U.S.

Statistics Canada said the trade deficit with the world was $793 million in May, up from $623 million in April.

Merchandise imports increased 0.4 per cent on the strength of energy products while exports were relatively unchanged in May.

And south of the border, the U.S. trade deficit came in at US$48.7 billion, down from $50.6 billion in April.