Canada’s dollar falls below 69 cents US

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX index was down 341.68 points – 2.8 per cent – shortly after the opening bell at 9:30 a.m. ET, joining declines in Asia, Europe and the United States. 08 of a cent to end trading at 69.63 cents U.S. The streak surpassed a nine-day run in April 2005, and Friday touched an nearly 13-year low.

The dollar was also down against the euro, British pound and Japanese yen in the early going.

The currency has fallen for 11 straight days against the US dollar, the longest run of daily losses since the country ended its currency’s peg to the greenback in 1971 and let it trade freely.

In recent weeks, the commodity-sensitive loonie has plunged as has oil, both of which have dropped to levels not seen since 2003 on concerns about a supply glut and a slowing Chinese economy.

The falling price of crude oil is the main reason for the loonie’s drop.

The Toronto Stock Exchange and crude oil futures were also down Friday morning.

“It’s been a tough start to the year for equity markets, with what feels like one step forward and two steps back”, Jerusalim said.

Most major European indexes were down and Asian markets closed lower with the exception of Shanghai, which rose almost 2.2%.

With about three hours to go before regular trading on North American stock exchanges at 9:30 a.m., index futures were solidly positive: Dow Jones futures were up 227.64 points at 16,379.05, S&P 500 futures advanced 31.56 points to 1,921.84 and the Nasdaq futures gained 88.94 points to 4,615.0.