Canada's 'loonie' will continue to slide

Weaker commodity demand has seen the Canadian dollar fall to a four-year low against its American counterpart.

The Canadian dollar (or loonie') is on the slide. In the past year it has dropped by 10% against the US dollar, hitting a four-year low of C$1.10. This is partly down to weaker commodity demand.

Canada's wide range of raw materials, and emerging markets' voracious appetite for them, lifted the loonie from around US$0.62 in 2002 to US$1.10 in 2007. The currency also benefited from safe haven' demand, with central banks diversifying into the loonie as an alternative to US dollars and euros. But with Europe looking more stable, this prop has gone.

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