Loonie touched its strongest since November 19 at 1.2616 Price of U.S. oil rose 0.3% against the dollar on Wednesday, holding near its strongest level in almost three weeks due to fears about the economic impact of the Omicron variant and the Bank of Canada interest rate decision. The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.2641 to the dollar, or 79.11 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest intraday level since Nov. 19 at 1.2616. The CAD has benefited from the unwind in the Omicron premium so far, said Bipan Rai, North America head, FX Strategy at CIBC Capital Markets. World shares set for their biggest two-day jump since November last year, with investors less concerned about the variant and the price of oil rose 0.3% to $72.27 a barrel. Oil is one of Canada's major exports. The Bank of Canada will issue an interest rate announcement at 10 a.m. 1500 GMT Money markets expect rate hikes in January or March, which is an earlier time frame than the central bank has been guiding. Without the new variant, the strength of recent inflation, employment and GDP data would signal a hike at the next month's meeting, Rai said. The Canadian government bond yields edged higher across a flatter curve. The 10 year rate has touched its highest level since December 1 at 1.593% before falling to 1.583%, up less than half a basis point on the day.