By Aaron Hankin

Currencies linked to commodity prices were trading higher on Monday after the U.S. government said it was halting waivers for countries that import Iranian oil.

Biggest movers

The currencies of Canada and Norway -- two of the world's largest oil exporters -- are the biggest movers in early Monday trade. The Canadian dollar had gained 0.3% against the greenback, with a single dollar fetching C$1.3358, while the Norwegian krone added 0.2% to 8.4990.

The news of potential sanctions pushed the price of both West Texas Intermediate crude and Brent crude prices higher by more than 2%.

Eight countries had been granted a 180-day waiver to buy Iran's crude despite U.S. sanctions, but May 2 is the deadline for a renewal and the U.S. has indicated that it won't refresh waivers for China, India and Turkey -- among Iran's biggest customers. The end of waivers is seen as bullish for oil prices, since it impedes exports from a large crude exporter.

Read:Oil prices jump over 2% on expectations U.S. will halt waivers on Iran oil imports (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-jump-over-2-on-expectations-us-will-halt-waivers-on-iran-oil-imports-2019-04-22)

What are analysts saying?

Marios Hadjikyriacos, investment analyst at XM said a pending central bank meeting dampened the rally in one of the oil-linked currencies. "Even the Canadian dollar failed to gain substantially on Monday, unable to capitalize on the surge in oil prices," he wrote.

"This likely underscores that traders are somewhat reluctant to increase their exposure to the loonie ahead of the BoC's [Bank of Canada] policy meeting on Wednesday, where the central bank may strike a more cautious tone amid some softness in the domestic economy."

How are major currencies trading?

The ICE Dollar Index, a popular gauge of the strength of the U.S. dollar, was down 0.1% at 97.346. The index made a 2-week high on Friday, and is less than 1% from hitting its highest level since mid-2017.

It was a subdued start for other major G-10 currencies with the euro unchanged at $1.1248 and the British pound off less than 0.1% at $1.2987.

Read:U.S. stock futures point to losses at the start of post-Easter trading (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-point-to-losses-at-the-start-of-post-easter-trading-2019-04-22)

What's on tap for the day

On the economic calendar, existing home sales data for March are scheduled for release at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

Read:Here are the biggest hurdles oil-market bulls will face in the next few months (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-are-the-biggest-hurdles-oil-market-bulls-will-face-in-the-next-few-months-2019-04-18)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2019 08:40 ET (12:40 GMT)