OTTAWA, May 20 (Reuters) - Statistics Canada found no evidence of a leak of its inflation data on Wednesday, despite a move by the Canadian dollar half an hour before the numbers were released, spokesman Jonathan Massey-Smith said.

Traders in London had said there were rumors the data, showing lower than expected inflation, had been leaked and this had caused a brief dip in the Canadian currency ahead of the 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) official release time. The currency later surged higher on higher commodity prices to close at C$1.1404 to the U.S. dollar or 87.69 U.S. cents.

"We have no evidence of any unauthorized release of our data," Massey-Smith said. "Rumors and speculation happen all the time."

The federal statistical agency faced similar speculation of a leak on May 8 just ahead of sensitive jobs data. It found no evidence then either, but it has tightened up security procedures. (Reporting by Randall Palmer; editing by Rob Wilson)