Loonie drops below 70 cents US in late-morning trading, S&P/TSX composite also down

TORONTO — The loonie fell below 70 cents US in late-morning trading after the latest reading on inflation dropped below two per cent.

The Canadian dollar traded for 69.84 cents US compared with 70.23 cents US on Monday after Statistics Canada said the annual inflation rate in November was 1.9 per cent, down from 2.0 per cent in October.

The loonie’s move came as the S&P/TSX composite index was down 72.91 points at 25,074.30.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 270.41 points at 43,447.07. The S&P 500 index was down 22.08 points at 6,052, while the Nasdaq composite was down 70.95 points at 20,102.94.

The February crude oil contract was down US$1.25 at US$69.04 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$3.14 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was down US$16 at US$2,654 an ounce and the March copper contract was down five cents at US$4.14 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press