Canada’s dollar headed for a fourth weekly decline, matching a stretch of losses in July 2009, as signs of a U.S. economic slowdown discouraged bets that the Bank of Canada will resume increasing borrowing costs. The currency touched this week its lowest level in two months versus the greenback after a report showed the economy of the U.S., Canada’s largest trading partner, expanded at a slower pace in the first quarter. The loonie, as the currency is also known, has fallen against all of its most-traded counterparts including the yen since May 20. “The Canadian dollar is underperforming most of the other primary currencies as we’ve seen some softer data from the U.S.,” said Camilla Sutton, a Bank of Nova Scotia currency strategist in Toronto. “That’s weighed on traders’ minds because the Canadian economy is so closely tied to the U.S. economy.” The currency traded at 97.62 cents versus the U.S. dollar at 8:12 a.m. in Toronto, compared with 97.77 yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0244. It has fallen 0.2 percent this week and 3.2 percent in May. While the Bank of Canada is due to meet May 31, it’s not expected to raise its 1 percent target rate for overnight lending until the third quarter, according to the median forecast of 20 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. America’s gross domestic product grew at 1.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, U.S. Commerce Department figures showed yesterday. The gain was the same as estimated last month and compares with a 3.1 percent increase in the prior quarter. The median forecast of 82 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a revised 2.2 percent gain. To contact the reporter for this story: Catarina Saraiva in New York at asaraiva5@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net

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