Canada’s dollar depreciated versus its U.S. counterpart as concern that European officials may fail to halt the region’s sovereign-debt crisis before it spreads to banks cut demand for higher-yielding assets. The Canadian currency rose yesterday by the most in two months against its U.S. counterpart after Germany and France vowed to deliver a plan to support the region’s banks. U.S. stock-index futures and crude oil, Canada’s largest export, fell today before a vote by Slovakian lawmakers on retooling Europe’s bailout fund. “It’s really just what’s transpiring in Europe,” said Camilla Sutton, head of currency strategy at Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto, in a telephone interview. “The Canadian dollar is vulnerable to following the broader trends.” The currency fell 0.2 percent to C$1.0279 per U.S. dollar at 8:19 a.m. in Toronto. It rose 1.3 percent yesterday, the most since Aug. 9. One Canadian dollar buys 97.28 U.S. cents. The loonie, as the currency is sometimes known, remained lower after Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. reported on its website that housing starts were 205,900 at a seasonally adjusted annual pace in September. Economists forecast a reading of 190,000 according to the median of 19 responses to a Bloomberg News survey. The currency lost 6.9 percent in September, the most in almost three years, as volatility surged on speculation European officials will fail to contain the region’s debt crisis. November futures on crude oil fell as much as $1.14 to $84.27 a barrel. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.4 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Fournier in Halifax, Nova Scotia at cfournier3@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net

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