CANADA FX-Canadian dollar extends gains after Fed statement

 TORONTO, March 16 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar rose to
its highest level since July 2008 on Tuesday afternoon after
the U.S. Federal Reserve held benchmark interest rates near
zero, as expected, and renewed its promise to keep them
exceptionally low for an extended period.

 Building on momentum from firmer oil and equities prices
and stronger than expected Canadian economic data, the Canadian
dollar hit C$1.0135 to the U.S. dollar, or 98.67 U.S. cents.

 That is up from Monday's close at C$1.0197 to the U.S.
dollar, or 98.07 U.S. cents.
 (Reporting by Ka Yan Ng; editing by Peter Galloway)