RTTN: Canadian Dollar Falls To Fresh Multi-week Lows Against Greenback And Yen
(RTTNews) - Tuesday, the Canadian dollar plunged to fresh multi-week lows against the currencies of US and Japan as oil price fell below $77 per barrel today as stock markets declined on renewed worries over euro zone debt.
The Canadian dollar also showed weakness against the European currency.
U.S. crude for August dropped as much as $1.75 to a low of $76.50 per barrel and was down $1.65 at $76.60 at 4:17 am ET, extending Monday's 0.77 percent decline.
The Canadian dollar fell against the US currency in early deals on Tuesday and touched near a 3-week low of 1.0481 at 4:40 am ET. As of now, the loonie is worth 1.0470 against the greenback, compared to 1.0360 hit late New York Monday. On the downside, 1.068 is seen as the next target level for the Canadian dollar.
During early deals on Tuesday, the Canadian dollar slipped against the Japanese yen. The loonie-yen pair that closed yesterday's trading at 86.31 is currently trading near a 5-week low of 84.70. The next downside target level for the loonie is seen at 83.0.
Japan's unemployment rate rose for the third straight month in May, up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percentage point from April to 5.2%, the Internal Affairs Ministry reported today. That was slightly higher than forecasts for 5%, following the 5.1% rise in April. The number of employed persons eased 0.7% on year to 62.95 million.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that industrial production in Japan fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in May from the previous month. That was below expectations for a flat reading following the 1.3% increase in April.
On an annual basis, industrial output jumped 20.2%, roughly in line with expectations for a 20.3% increase following the 25.9% spike in the previous month.
The Canadian dollar weakened against the euro during early deals on Tuesday. Presently, the loonie is worth 1.2775 per euro. If the loonie drops further, it may likely target the 1.285 level. At yesterday's close, the euro-loonie pair was quoted at 1.2720.
Eurozone economic confidence in June rose to 98.7 from 98.4 in May, a survey from European Commission showed today. The expected reading was 98.1.
Consumer sentiment improved by 1 point to minus 17 in June, where unemployment fears continued to ease and consumers were more optimistic about the general economic situation. Confidence in services rose to 4 from 3 in May, driven by a brighter assessment of the business situation over the past 3 months. Economists were expecting services confidence to stay at 3.