TORONTO — The Canadian dollar was trading below 73 cents U.S. on Friday for the first time since mid-2004 as oil prices fell to levels not seen since the global economy was in the grips of a deep recession.
The loonie was at 72.96 cents US at one point late in the morning, a decline of 0.4 cent from Thursday's close.
Canada's dollar has hit several new 11-year lows since it closed last week at 74.76 cents US.
On equity markets, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX index was down 146.88 points at 12,869.71.
In New York, the Dow Jones average of 30 stocks was down 236.08 points at 17,338.67, the broader S&P 500 index fell 28.12 points to 2,024.11 and the Nasdaq lost 72.45 points to 4,972.72.
On the commodity markets, the price of oil was near levels last seen in early 2009. The January contract for crude was down 87 cents at US$35.89 a barrel. The January contract for natural gas was down three cents at US$1.98 and the February gold contract was up $2.50 at US$1,074.50 an ounce.
