TORONTO – The Canadian dollar has closed below 70 cents U.S. for the first time in nearly 13 years while the Toronto stock market registered another triple-digit loss.
The loonie finished the day at 69.71 cents U.S., down 0.43 of a cent since Tuesday’s close.
The last time the Canadian dollar closed beneath the 70-cent U.S. mark was on April 30, 2003, when it was 69.76 cents U.S.
The S&P/TSX composite index lost 203.49 points at 12,170.41 — its 10th losing day in 11 trading sessions since the Christmas break.
Plummeting crude prices and lacklustre economic data out of China have been hammering Toronto’s stock market in recent weeks.
In New York, the Dow Jones plunged 364.81 points to 16,151.41, while the S&P500 shed 48.40 points to 1,890.28 and the Nasdaq declined 159.86 points to 4,526.06.
On commodity markets, the February contract for benchmark crude finished the day four cents higher at US$30.48 a barrel, while February natural gas gained 1.2 cents to US$2.269 per mmBtu and February gold rose $1.90 to US$1,087.10 an ounce.
