WINNIPEG – The Canadian dollar fell hard on Thursday following the lead of crude oil prices.
As of 8:55 a.m. CDT, the loonie was at US$0.7834 or US$1=C$1.2765, compared to US$0.7918 or US$1=C$1.2630 when markets closed on Wednesday.
Crude oil sank to their lowest prices since May on Thursday. Brent crude oil dropped US$1.79 per barrel to US$66.44. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined US$1.60 to US$63.86/barrel. Meanwhile, Western Canadian Select (WCS) lost US$1.67 to US$50.28/barrel.
Concerns over the tapering off of stimulus from the United States Federal Reserve caused the TSX/S&P Composite Index to shed 139.59 points at 20,157.98.
Gold was down US$3.43 per ounce to US$1,784.39.