Loonie falls below 69.5 cents US, oil up, stock markets waver

Sadiq Adatia, chief investment officer at Sun Life Global Investments, said the Bank of Canada is eyeing the low price of oil as it considers where to take its benchmark interest rates after cutting them twice previous year.

If there was one bright spot Tuesday, it was the S&P/TSX composite index, which added 54.65 points to end the day at 12,373.90 – its first positive result since the Christmas break.

It was up 174.34 points points at 16,298.75 but had been in the red, the broader S&P 500 index advanced 15.6 points at 1,905.91 and the Nasdaq 100 gained 27.61 points to 4,210.72.

Canadians planning their winter escape to the Southern U.S. will be feeling the pinch as their money won’t stretch as far.

Supporting gains was a rally in shares of JPMorgan Chase after the banking giant reported net income of $5.4 billion US, earnings per share of $1.32, on revenue of $23.7 billion USA, beating estimates.

The currency has weakened for 10 straight days against the USA dollar Wednesday, the longest run of daily losses since the country ended its currency’s peg to the U.S. dollar in 1971 and let it trade freely.

“Basically every time the loonie drops a cent, on average our calf prices go up about five cents a pound, holding all other things consistent”.

Canadian dollar coins are displayed on a map of North America on January 9, 2014 in Montreal. “It’s just kind of a no-brainer really”.

“The TSX bears the brunt of any concerns about global growth”, said Elvis Picardo, strategist and vice president of research at Global Securities in Vancouver.

The Canadian dollar closed at 0.6963 US dollar, compared with Wednesday’s closing rate of 0.6971 USA dollar.

Be prepared to pay more for anything imported, including food.

With low-running oil prices, Canada’s powerhouse Alberta is headed for a second consecutive year of economic contraction, according to ATB Financial’s latest outlook, released Thursday.