By Chris Fournier Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Canada's currency weakened after wholesale sales in August fell for the first time since February and foreigners decreased their holdings of Canadian securities for a second month. The Canadian dollar, known as the loonie because of the aquatic bird on the one-dollar coin, depreciated as much as 0.6 percent to C$1.1885 per U.S. dollar, from C$1.1820 on Oct. 17. It last traded at C$1.1860 at 8:52 a.m. in Toronto. It has declined 10 percent this month. One Canadian dollar buys 84.32 U.S. cents. ``Wholesale sales numbers show there's just not as much economic activity from overseas and the U.S., and people are pulling out of Canadian assets,'' said Tyson Wright, senior currency trader at Custom House in Victoria, British Columbia. ``The Canadian economy is on the slow. That will continue to put pressure on the loonie, especially if the Bank of Canada, as is widely expected, cuts rates tomorrow. We'll see the Canadian dollar struggle to appreciate in the near term.'' Sales fell 1.5 percent to C$45.7 billion ($38.6 billion), Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg said sales would drop 0.9 percent, the median of nine estimates, after a 2.7 percent increase in July. International investors sold a net C$730 million of securities in August. To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Fournier in Montreal at cfournier3@bloomberg.net

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