Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Loonnie falls to 13-month low

|
|
 
  
Published: Sept. 11, 2008 at 6:53 PM
Advertisement

TORONTO, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Canada's dollar fell to a near 13-month low Thursday after crude oil prices continued to slip and a government report showed the nation's trade surplus shrank.

The Canadian currency ended the day at 1.0765 Canadian dollars to one U.S. dollar, or 92.89 U.S. cents to a Canadian dollar, down from 1.0697 Canadian dollars to a U.S. dollar, or 93.48 U.S. cents, Wednesday.

The currency -- dubbed the loonie because of the image of a common loon, a well-known Canadian bird, on the $1 coin -- fell as low as 1.0821 Canadian dollars against the greenback, or 92.41 U.S. cents, earlier in the day -- its lowest level since Aug. 16, 2007.

Canada's dollar is heavily influenced by demand for crude oil and other commodities the country exports.

Crude futures slid $1.71, or 1.7 percent of its value, to settle at $100.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange amid demand worries. At one point futures fell as low as $100.10 a barrel.

Crude has lost 31.5 percent of its value since its July 11 peak of $147.27 and has fallen more than 5 percent of its value in the last three trading sessions alone.

Analysts attribute the drop to fears of a global slowdown, which could reduce consumer demand.

Canada's trade surplus fell to $4.85 billion in July from June's revised $5.64 billion, with energy-product exports falling 1.5 percent to $12.8 billion, due in part to record-high oil prices, Statistics Canada said.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The making of the Oscars The Chicago Auto Show The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China
Additional Business News Stories
1 of 20
Syrian protests continue
View Caption
fark
Survey finds that men are quick to fall in love, roll over and fall asleep
World Fark Party II - Las Vegas Nevada: March 30 - Apr 1
Nerdiest sport ever: Combat juggling
Photoshop this topless athlete
Man rejects girlfriend's noodles, says toodles by leaving her in poodle of blood. Oodles of boodle...
Mormons tried to posthumously baptize Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel but were...