The loonie approached 82 cents US as it climbed higher against the U.S. dollar, while Canada's main stock index edged lower in early trading, weighed down by losses in the health care sector.
The Canadian dollar traded for 81.82 cents US compared with 81.49 cents US on Wednesday.
The rise in the loonie came as the S&P/TSX composite index fell 3.64 points at 19,307.10.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 29.71 points at 34,260.05. The S&P 500 index was down 7.69 points at 4,159.90, while the Nasdaq composite was down 76.41 points at 13,506.02.
The June crude contract was down 10 cents at US$65.53 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was down a penny at US$2.93 per mmBTU.
The June gold contract was up US$8.60 at US$1,792.90 an ounce and the July copper contract was up six cents at US$4.59 a pound.