Canadian forex midday: C$ drops below 88 cents U.S.

By Commodity News Service Canada

Winnipeg, Nov 4 – The Canadian dollar continued its sharp decline against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, falling below the 88 cents U.S. mark.

Much of the Canadian dollar’s recent drop in value is linked to falling crude oil values, which are now at multi-year lows, according to analysts.

At 11:40 CST Tuesday, the Canadian dollar was trading at U.S.$0.8777, or U.S.$1=C$1.1393, which compares with Monday’s North American close of U.S.$0.8805 or U.S.$1=C$1.1357.

A strengthening U.S. dollar, after the U.S. Federal Reserve deciding to end its quantitative easing program last week, was also bearish for the loonie.

Technical based selling and concerns about slow economic growth in China and Europe further undermined the Canadian currency, brokers said.

However, some support came from positive Canadian trade data. Statistics Canada reported Canada’s trade surplus was C$710 million in September, up from a deficit of C$463million in August. The improvement was linked to an increase in car and truck exports.

The Toronto Stock Exchange was down 145.83 points, or 1.00%, at 11:40 CST Tuesday, to sit at 14,391.79.