TORONTO - The Canadian dollar was little changed near midday Tuesday as oil prices slipped and the latest reading on U.S. factory orders missed expectations. The loonie dipped 0.01 of a cent to 100.97 cents cents US. The commodity-sensitive currency had jumped almost three-quarters of a US cent on Monday as prices for oil and metals advanced amid a report that showed U.S. industrial production grew in March at a faster pace than expected while China said that manufacturers also gained momentum. However, manufacturing data from France and Germany weakened, suggesting Europe will likely face a recession this year. Oil prices backed off Tuesday following a disappointing read on U.S. factory orders. Businesses ordered more machinery and equipment from U.S. factories in February. Orders to factories increased 1.3 per cent in February, which offset a similar decline in January. But the showing fell short of the 1.5 per cent gain economists had expected. Demand for so-called core capital goods, a gauge of business investment plans, rose 1.7 per cent. That was better than the government's preliminary estimate last week and followed a steep decline in January. The May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 52 cents to US$104.71 a barrel after charging ahead more than US$2. The May copper contract was unchanged at US$3.92. The Chinese data had helped send copper up a dime on Monday. China is the world's biggest copper consumer. And the January bullion contract on the Nymex edged $5.10 lower to US$1,674.60 an ounce. Traders also awaited the release of the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting on interest rates in early March. It's hoped those minutes will provide reassurance that the U.S. central bank will continue to keep rates near zero.

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